Ice Guardian
by kkrraakk
Summary: A desperate demon from another plane of existence arrives at Arendelle's North Mountain gravely wounded, and is rescued. The princess Elsa is born, and a year later, the child of the demon and a mountain huntress comes into the world. What would become of him, the half breed child? What will their meeting mean to Arendelle, or even the world? Elsa/Atreyu (AU after movie) Please R
1. Prologue

**A/N: I don't own Frozen, or any franchises that I may use as cameos or include elements of!**

* * *

**Ice Guardian**

Time: Unknown

Once, deep in the bowels of hell, there resided a demon that was hated by his fellows; some for his abilities, for he was quite skilled with his favored weapon, but the vast majority of hate was reserved for his disposition. You see, he did not hate or lust for the surface world, or wish to further the Demon King's agenda; in fact, he was shunned simply because he _wanted to be left alone_.

For years, his wish held true: he was ignored by all that shared his clan-name Vindoc, and others were never near enough to discover his peculiar disposition. For decades, he was… content.

Then came the upheaval.

The plane of the damned SHUDDERED, as if an angry giant had vented his rage on the very fabric of reality itself. A rift opened in the plains near his abode, and he saw his chance: a chance to leave his lonely existence and find a new place. He jumped through, carrying only his Zanbatō, and disappeared from his home dimension forever.

Arendelle, 20 years before the King and Queens demise:

A cold night was upon the kingdom of Arendelle, and the townsfolk had shuttered up their homes for the night, content to wait out the cold in warm beds with family. Up in the mountains, the trolls were working to clear the path into their grove, as enough snow had fallen to close up the pass. As they moved pile after pile of snow, their leader, Pabbie, was overseeing the effort and directing labor where it was needed most. While he appeared confident to the other trolls, he was in fact deeply troubled. He had been up later into the day than most trolls can withstand, and had been the only one awake to sense the massive flare of arcane energy focused around the North Mountain. This in itself would not be a cause for alarm, as the mountain was a natural focus for magical phenomena. It was the only reason the trolls were even this close to a human settlement, as humans tended to run them off land that suited them.

No, what disturbed Pabbie was the fact that the energies were deeply rooted in the elements of fire, darkness, and the Aether, the magic of the body. The combination of the first two would indicate the arrival of a shade or a minor dark creature, but with the inclusion of Aether magic, the result would be much more dangerous; it indicated an infernal being, one powerful enough to rank as a Lord in the infernal circles, and an incredibly powerful one at that. The burst of energy was brief, yes, but it was more than enough for a single creature to come through.

If Pabbie had known the one who came through had no desire or other drive to harm others, you could have knocked him over with a feather. As it was, he set himself about to strengthening the tribal wards the trolls maintained, for he feared an invasion of their land. Turns out, he needn't have bothered.

The vortex was a powerful manifestation of the primal force of magic, and was most certainly not gentle on its traveler. The lonely demon was pressed on all sides by cutting wind, blasting fire and bouts of sudden, rending _**emptiness**_. When he exited the portal, it was all he could do to force his form into that of an exceptionally tall and rugged looking mountain man before he passed out from his many wounds.

A short distance away…

Even though it was the dead of night and freezing on top of that, a young woman was out in the snow. She was a tall blonde, a beautiful woman with a heart shaped face and full lips giving her a face to drool over, but no-one would ever make a comment about her intelligence, or say she earned er keep through looks. Not if they wanted to keep their insides… Well, inside. She was out looking for some firewood, as her current stores were running a bit low and she wanted to be sure not to run out before daybreak. She was used to late nights out in the knee deep snow, as her trade in life was pelts and other animal products. She was a huntress, and was proud of her nomadic lifestyle.

Her keen senses picked up on a distant rushing noise, and after determining that it was not an avalanche barreling down on her, she decided to investigate the strange sound. As she zeroed in on the noise, she was almost blinded by a dazzling red flare on the forest floor. Once her eyes had once again adjusted to the darkness, she crept up to get a better vantage.

Imagine her surprise to find a lacerated, bleeding seven-foot tall brick-house of a man laying out unconscious on the bare ground!

She had no idea where this man had come from, as there was no outpost anywhere close enough to get to this remote area easily, let alone stark naked and wounded. After gawking for a split second, her better nature took over. She bandaged the man's wounds as best she could, using skills learned from years of self-sufficiency. After stabilizing him, she strapped together a makeshift gurney and towed the man and the small amount of firewood she had collected home to her cabin.

If she had known she was dragging her future husband home, she might have avoided some of the rockier areas she towed him over.

Arendelle, Elsa's 1st birthday, 14 years before the Royal's death

The King and Queen were concerned. Their child, Elsa, was showing more and more of her powers as she grew. They were still not anything more than chilling a room or freezing a bottle, but enough to cause worry about prying eyes. As the royals worried about Elsa's future, an unlikely couple was bringing their child into the world…

North Mountain, Summit

"AAAAAAAAAAHGGHH! Damn it, if you had told me giving birth to a half-demon would be so PAINFUL, I would have never married you, Ascalon!" shrieked the soon-to-be mother as another powerful contraction wracked her body.

"Now Fyrea, you know that isn't true. Now come on, I can see the head! One more push! Come on love, I know you can do it!"

'Easy for you to say, you aren't the one in labor.' grouses the blonde. Nevertheless, she braces herself for the final push…

"WAAAAAAAAAA! WAAAAAAAAAA!" cries the newborn, announcing his entrance into the world.

"Oh, Ascalon, he is beautiful! A healthy baby boy… Oh, my." Gasps Fyrea. "What? What's wrong?!" Ascalon rushes over in a panic at his wife's words, abandoning the rags he was washing from the birth.

"Nothing, love. I just saw his eyes! A lovely molten gold like his fathers, although they are a bit… slitted."

Ascalon suddenly stills. "Gold… Already? AND Slitted? Are you sure?"

Mildly alarmed, Fyrea answers; "Y-yes, is that a bad thing?"

"…. No, just startling! Only the most powerful of demons from my plane are born with their pupils slitted, and even then, the eyes still take time to color in, their power just isn't strong enough at birth to show their magical talent. Ha! I guess my baby boy is already ahead of the pack, and an Aether Child to boot!"

"Honey, you can preen about your prodigal son once we have named him."

"…Oh. Hehe, yeah, sorry. I STILL can't believe I'm a dad!"

She smiles softly. "I know, honey. Now, what about Faelin? **That** is a good, solid name, like him and his father."

Ascalon looks a bit taken aback by the suggestion. "While that is a good name, and thank you for the compliment, it has an unfortunate rhyme that would follow him through life and I wouldn't want him to go through that."

He thinks for a moment. "How about Kai? In the language of my origin, it means release and to begin anew."

She nods. "It is a good name, but bears a bit of… heavy feeling about it. Let's save it for a bit. Maybe… Atreyu."

"Bold guardian, eh? It suits him."

The couple locks gazes and grin. "Atreyu it is!" they chorus. And thus, the story of Atreyu, the Ice Guardian… begins.


	2. Chapter 1- Wilderness encounters

The Real Beginning! Here we go!

* * *

Chapter 1: Wilderness Encounters

"Wait up, Kristoff! You know I can't keep up in this snow!" Shouts a perturbed Anna.

"Well keep up, feistypants! You're the one who wanted to go on an ice harvesting trip!" teased Kristoff.

'Wow, those two really get along great.' Thinks Elsa slyly. The group was going up the countryside, heading to a small lake that Kristoff routinely mined for his ice business. In the six months after what was becoming known as "The Upheaval," the kingdom had finally settled into a routine of life again. Children played, people worked and shopped in the towns, and all was right in the world again. They chose this day trip to get Elsa away from the castle and the enormous amounts of paperwork required to run a kingdom.

Anna thought that the amount of signing and filing should be classified as torture.

Elsa agreed wholeheartedly.

As the tiff between the two lovebirds increased in intensity, so did the light snowfall around them. But before long, the two made up and the group finished the remaining walk in companionable silence. Except Anna, she seemed to have a comment about everything.

"Oh! Oh! Look at that tree! The snow makes it look kinda like Kai!" squealed Anna,

"And that one looks like Sven!"

"Anna, that IS Sven. He got snow on him." groaned Kristoff.

"… I knew that."

"Right."

"Anna, Kristoff, you might wanna pay more attention to where you are! We're here, guys!"

The group had arrived at the small lake. In reality, it was more of a large, spring-fed pond. Out in the center of the lake there was a small island, and that is where the group came across a most peculiar person. As the group was dancing around and Elsa busied herself solidifying the ice so it was safe to skate on, no-one noticed that a large and raggedy bundle of cloth was set on the island.

At least, no one noticed before their snowball fight broke out.

"HEY! Not the face, NOT THE FACE!" Yelled Kristoff as the royal sisters ganged up on him. "Hey Sven, help me out here!" His faithful reindeer simply snorted at him, as if to say "You get what you get." Kristoff was promptly nothing more than a gloved hand sticking out of a very large pile of snow. Once he dug himself out, he rolled a small snow boulder and got Sven to launch it at the giggling sisters. As the large projectile got closer, Elsa froze and batted it away. It went flying, and landed squarely on the bundle with a loud clang.

All motion stopped as the group saw what had happened.

The first to react was Elsa. Out of fear she might have hurt someone, she dispelled her ice and the boulder along with it, and ran over to the huddle.

'Oh god, oh GOD! I hope... Oh god I hope no one was in there…' was the only thought running through her head. Only the smallest warning sign saved her from the unexpected reaction.

Elsa had barely noticed the pile shift when a very, VERY large sword suddenly whipped through the air towards her neck. Out of reflex, she ducked and put up an ice wall. It wasn't nearly enough to even slow the slab of steel that weighed more than her. The sound of shattering ice brought Anna and Kristoff out of their stupor, and they rushed over to help Elsa.

As the sword finished its circular path, the shape previously thought to be a pile of rags stood up. And up. AND UP. The figure stood at an imposing seven feet tall, and the physique visible through the gaps in the rags made Oaken's muscles look tiny and anemic.

With a feral growl, the figure _blurred_.

Before he could do anything other than raise his hands into a face guard, Kristoff was sent sailing across the pond and into a thick snowdrift by a straight punch. Before Elsa could even gauge what had happened, she suddenly found herself face first in the bare dirt of the island, having been sent there via Boot Express. Anna, taking advantage of the fact that the figure wasn't looking at her, grabbed the lute from the carriage and bashed the figure over the head with it. The lute exploded, and Anna felt a surge of elation. 'This freak of nature's GOTTA be feeling that one!'

The figure turned, pulled back his hood and cracked his neck. He then intoned in a deep voice, totally deadpan; "Ow?"

Anna gaped. "Ow?! OW?! I just hit you hard enough to knock out a horse, and all you do is say **OW**?!"

The figure shrugged. "You're right. That didn't even deserve a comment. What does deserve conversation is the fact that you three are the worst set of hunters I have ever seen. I assume you know my reputation, so let me ask you this: Did you _really_ think YOU COULD _KILL_ **ME!?**"

All three of the fellows cringed at the sheer volume and anger from that exclamation. As the giant figure looked to be waiting for a response, Elsa took the time to examine the man that who could have killed her two times in as many seconds. He was, indeed, tall and heavily muscled. Not in an overdone way, like the bodyguards of foppish nobles were, but from simply swinging around that gigantic slab of metal he used as a sword. She also saw that he wore a bandanna across his nose that hid his mouth, and disguised his facial features. The next thing she saw brought out a gasp and a comment before she could stop herself.

"Why are you wearing a blindfold? _Are_ you blind?"

The figure stilled. Not a simple relaxation of someone coming down from a guarded stance, but the absolute frozen state of a predator about to strike, or prey about to flee.

"You don't know?" the figure inquires.

"Why WOULD we?! We were rushing over to see if you were alright when you suddenly whip out that male compensation tool and nearly take the Queen's HEAD OFF!" Roars Kristoff, freshly back on the ice from digging himself out of the snowbank.

The figure slumps into a nearly defeated posture. "You DIDN'T know. Dammit. Look, I'm sorry for attacking you all, but I'm being hunted and I react even when asleep. I really did not mean to attack you. Looks like I need to leave. Again…" The last bit was said under his breath, but Elsa's sharp ears caught it. As he started to walk away, Elsa, recovered from her sudden impact, focuses and slams one palm onto the ice, intent to imprison focused into and through her wintry power.

A giant, flawless tangle of ice bars erupts from the frozen surface of the pond, wrapping around the figure and dragging his sword to the ground, out of his reach.

Anna lets out a sigh of relief. "Now that we can talk without you murderizing us, wanna tell us why you thought you could get away with attacking the Queen, regardless of your circumstances?! All she was doing was checking on you and-"

There was a flare of anger in the man's stance at this comment, and over the next few seconds it only built.

"Don't talk to me about circumstances. YOU DON'T KNOW ABOUT MY CIRCUMSTANCES!" With a wordless roar of rage, the ice prison _**vaporizes**_ and the figure blurs forward, grabbing Anna by the throat and holding her aloft, feet dangling above the frozen surface.

"Have you been attacked, hunted, shunned and reviled for simply existing?! Have you been chased out of **every home** you have ever had by thoughtless bigots who think they own the world?! _**HAVE YOU****?!**_"

Those last two words were said so close to her face that she could see through the thin fabric of the blindfold… and what she saw chilled her to the bone.

Before she could censor herself, she whimpered out one word. One word that shattered the sudden stillness and silence brought on by the giant's tirade.

"D-D-demon!"

The figure recoiled, dropping Anna in the process. After she caught her breath, she looked up to see a scene straight from the horror stories the guard captain used to tell her.

The man was standing, yes, but the only thing keeping him upright was an icicle the size of Anna's arm punched through his heart.

The world erupted.

A blaze of **POWER** rushed through the clearing, shattering the base of the icicle and allowing the figure to slump forward slightly. The gust of ancient magic blazed through the air, stealing the breath from all present, even Anna and Kristoff, even though as regular folk were almost blind to the current of raw magic.

There was simply that much.

As the flare of power built into a crescendo, the giant stood. Growled. And through horrified eyes, Anna, Kristoff and a sickened Elsa watched him _PULL THE ICE OUT._ As he did, the trio watched in morbid fascination as the wound knit closed in front of their eyes. Slowly, the figure turned and looked at Elsa.

Carefully, almost tenderly, but with the air of a death sentence being handed down, the figure removed his blindfold.

Molten gold, slitted pupils set in a rictus of pain blinked out at the world.

She blinked, and he was in front of her, striking down with the bloody ice dagger. Elsa closed her eyes, expecting the end. She knew she couldn't react in time to save herself, so she simply waited for the impact.

CRUNCH.

It never came.

As she opened her eyes, she locked gazes with the mysterious stranger. He had thrust the ice spike deep into the dirt next to her head, missing her by inches.

He opened his mouth and spoke.

"I am not a murderer. I will not kill those who do not give me cause. You, who by all rights meant to kill me, did it for one of two reasons. Was it to kill the "Demon"?"

He waited a beat, and cocked his head. Elsa suddenly felt under intense scrutiny.

"Or was it from family ties, from love and concern?"

Silence. Elsa was too terrified to respond, and the figure seemed amused by this fact.

"Well. As it seems, you cannot answer me now. So, I will bid you three goodbye. Remember, though, I always get my answers. I WILL see you again, Snowy One, and when I do, I _will_ have my answer."

With nary a sound, he walks to his sword and frees it from the foot-thick ice branches that trapped it as though they were wet paper, not solid ice. He looks back onto the terrified trio, puts his blindfold on, and vanishes on the spot.

As his presence recedes, the three take full breaths for the first time since the beginning of the encounter. Anna sums up their collective reaction quite nicely:

"What the hell just happened?"


	3. Chapter 2: To the Castle!

So, let's see what happens next!

Chapter 2: To the Castle

"What the hell just happened?"

As Anna's dumbfounded question echoed across the clearing, the ice covering the pond started to quiver and creak. Kristoff, being an ice harvester, knew exactly what that meant and quickly let the others in on the issue.

"EVERYBODY OFF THE ICE! IT'S SHATTERING!" He bellowed, suiting action to words as he scooped up a near catatonic Elsa and sprinted for the edge of the ice. Anna, being near the edge of the ice, was already clear before the others. Due to the quick thinking of the Royal Ice Deliverer, they avoided taking an artic bath. As they collapsed from exhaustion and the bruises they had sustained, they each thought about the encounter with the demonic figure.

Kristoff had the simplest notion of the mystery man; even though the man had attacked them and soundly thrashed them, he had left after showing a surprising amount of mercy. Kristoff felt that the man was good, if a bit… Well, violent. Didn't mean he wouldn't smack him a good one for tossing him across the clearing, though.

Anna was torn. She was the one to call him a demon, (he certainly fought like one) but she was also the one to feel his reaction to that being said. Before the ice spear had skewered him, she had caught a widening of the eyes, and a downturn at the corners of his eyes that she recognized from classes on reading people that the royals made her attend.

He had been hurt, saddened even, all because of the fact that she had jumped to that conclusion based on his appearance alone.

Anna had learned the hard way to not trust simple outer facades.

Elsa. Well, Elsa was a raging torrent of thoughts and impressions, each changing and blurring around her mind as she tried desperately to find the answer to the man's question.

The question boiled down to one thing:

Did Elsa act out of fear and anger, striking out at the unknown without thought?

Or had she attacked out of protective instinct, from love for her sister?

She was in such turmoil that her recently gained control started slipping. Her breath was visible, and the patch of ground she sat on was slowly icing over as she desperately tried to find the answer. The true answer.

She knew, somehow, that the fate of her kingdom, her family, and herself depended on her reason.

Elsa shook herself. 'Now is not the time to think on this! The man could be anywhere around, we need to get back to the castle.' she thought.

Kristoff was a bit disappointed to have to leave right then, as the shattered ice would have been perfect to harvest and shape, but Elsa and surprisingly Anna were quite adamant on getting back into the castle.

As the group packed up and prepared to head out, the Trolls nearby were in an uproar over the powerful flare of magic.

"We need to hide; we need to move! If a demon that powerful is spraying its power around, there is nothing we can do, we need to get out of here!" shrieked a hysterical troll.

"No, I recognize this power." replied Pabbie. "It is much stronger, but it is the same as the second flare we sensed and investigated on the North Mountain all those years ago."

"… THAT was the half-breed?!" "WHAT?" "How could that boy be this powerful already?!" were among the shocked expressions of the trolls.

"Yes, it was him, and it was not an attack; if it was, he is within the wards and they would have at least slowed him. No, that was a healing surge, and a powerful one. Only a grievous wound could cause a half breed to use that power. He will be looking to come here for help with the backlash. I WILL NOT TOLERATE BIGOTRY TOWARDS HIM, you understand?"

"But he is part Demon! The antithesis of the earth, which we are part of!" shouted one of the older, more ornery trolls.

"And he is also part human, and that entitles him to protection and haven according to the ancient treaty we have with Arendelle, as long as he disarms himself before entering out grove." countered Pabbie. It was clear that he would brook no more argument, and the trolls went about their business once more, albeit with an undercurrent of nervousness and fear.

Arendelle Forests

Atreyu was hurting. Both his physical form and his soul were wounded, but he was used to this. What disconcerted him was what he was feeling. His emotional state was shifting wildly, but it always came back to one thing: shame.

He was ashamed of his knee-jerk reaction to being attacked.

He was ashamed of intimidating Anna. The girl couldn't have harmed a hair on him, why did he react so... harshly?!

Ah, there was the other issue: he was confused.

After his parents had perished in a freak avalanche, his father holding back the snow from the shack they lived in with all his power and his mother rushing him to safety but not quite making it herself, he had always had one, clear goal: Survive.

Now, for the first time in his life, he didn't know what to do.

He had thought that reacting like he always did to the demon hunters would have solved the issue, but as soon as he saw the Queen, he had... hesitated. If he had been on his game, the three would have been dead before Elsa's broken ice wall hit the ground. But something in his sore, broken soul had held him back.

He was glad it had.

He knew he was a violent person, yes, but only out of necessity. Being hunted across the continent and back by demon hunters quickly taught one to hide well and fight better. He had taken many lives, but only out of clear cut self-defense, and even then only when he had to. It was only lately that he had taken to completely massacring the hunting parties, as they had stepped up their game and started bringing better weapons, holy water and silver. While they don't bother him nearly as much as they would a true demon, they kept him from healing as well, or as fast.

And wounded, tired prey is dead prey.

So, he was glad when the tug deep inside his soul stayed his blade millimeters from the Queen's throat. When his conscious mind had finally caught up with his reactions, he almost wept with relief. He would NEVER voluntarily kill innocents, regardless of any circumstances or situations.

He was brought out of his introspection by a deep pain from his healed wound. Using his power like he had would save him and give him a boost sufficient to finish a fight, but it also brought weeks of near crippling pain if used without thought or preparation. The Queen's attack had caught him utterly by surprise; he almost didn't get his power into the wound before he died.

He clutched at his chest and grumbled. "Dammit, I don't have the time or patience to wait out the backlash. I know the Troll enclave is around here. Da did tell me that they would help me as long as I was peaceful, so I guess they might be able to help. Don't know how they might react to you though, Kiri."

He had also picked up the bad habit of talking aloud to his Zanbato when in deep thought. He had named it Kiri, Mist, after the reactions to when he vaporized a hunter's keep gate with one swing.

The cowards had panicked and scattered like mist burning away in the early morning light.

'Kiri" was a truly unique sword; Twice as thick as a normal Zanbato, with a razor edge on one side and a glowing, molten red line inscribed on each side of the blade, it lent a sense of menace to his countenance that was invaluable in intimidation. It was Demon-Forged, but from true Earth materials, so the Trolls might accept it or reject it. He could only wait and see. He knew one thing, though: If the Trolls didn't want him having it, he would just deal with the pains.

It was the last thing from either of his parents left; everything else had been destroyed by demon hunters long ago.

He sighed and started his trek towards the geyser fields. 'If nothing else, I can be warmer tonight. Although the cold never bothered me, anyway.'

Arendelle Keep

"Open the gate, the Queen has returned!" announced Kai, the rotund man ever vigilant on the wall.

"What am I, chopped liver?" grouses Anna. Kristoff leans in and kisses her on the cheek, bringing out a rosy blush. "If you are, then you're MY chopped liver." He whispers. Giggling, Anna pushes him away.

Elsa watches this with an air of sadness. 'Will I ever be able to come close to anyone like that, without them flinching from fear?'

As the small group of people (Plus one reindeer) enter the castle, Elsa gestures the guard captain closer. He approaches, and Elsa begins to tell him of what had occurred.

"… and after that, he just vanished. No footprints, no sound, just gone from one blink to the next." Explained Elsa.

The captain thinks for a moment, and then beckons Elsa forward to the guardhouse. "I have an interesting report you might be interested in, then, my Queen." He sorts though a list of reports, and finding the one he wanted, handed it to Elsa.

"This is a declaration from the Church that they are pursuing a demonic being through Arendelle's land. We didn't believe that they would find anything, so we simply gave them permission to come through. It seems that they were on to something, after all. But your description doesn't match theirs, your majesty. The reports from them paint the demon as a mass murderer, a feral beast that murders children in their crib and beats the parents to death with the child's body."

Elsa gives him a horrified look. The captain, taken aback by her reaction, reassures her; "That is just what the report says. From your account, it seems more like it just wanted to be left alone. But now…" at this thought the captain looked distinctly queasy.

Slightly miffed at his hesitance, Elsa snapped "Now… What? What disturbs you so?"

The captain looks down at his shoes, takes a deep, bracing breath, and plows ahead. "Demons are well known to be bound to their oaths when they make them. The one you encountered said it would be back. In this case, that isn't a threat. It was a promise. We will see it again, and from your description, none of the guard would stand a chance. The most we could do would delay it if it wanted to kill you."

Elsa thinks for a moment, and answers; "I don't think it means to kill me, at least not out of hand. If you see the figure, try being… courteous."

The captain looked at her as if she had grown another head... or three. "Courtesy… to a DEMON? The church would have us knee deep in inquisitors before we could so much as Hail Mary!"

Elsa looked at him with a sardonic smirk. "Only if it _is_ a demon we show courtesy to. If it is simply a very large man, then all is normal, yes?"

The captain looks at Elsa, a new respect coming over his face at her words. "Yes, yes that could indeed work. I will inform the guards and militia that if they see a man of the description given that they should be courteous and direct him to a room to wait for you to grant him an audience."

Elsa smiles. "I knew I could count on you, Captain."

Arendelle's Forests: Troll Border

In the forest Atreyu curses and stomps away from the geyser fields in a rage. "Stupid damn trolls and their stupid damn hate of swords. Looks like I need to head elsewhere. At least Pabbie helped me control the pain a bit. I need a place to stay for a few weeks, still."

He thought for a bit on possible bolt-holes before he groaned and face palmed.

"Of course, the only safe place within walking distance WOULD be Arendelle… Looks like I'm paying the royals a visit sooner rather than later."

With destination in mind, he heads out to the castle.

Large Merchant Ship, two days from Arendelle:

"You got the target's description?"

"Yeah."

"You got the kill order?"

"Yep. Why decapitation, though?"

"Rumor is the target is supernatural."

"… Yeah, that'd do it."

"Everyone clear on your roles?"

"Aye." "Yes, boss." "When wasn't I?"

"OK, boys. We pull this off, and we get a big enough score to retire. Let's not let the big bad Princeling down."

"Or his pet Bishop."


	4. Chapter 3: Combative Reunion

**So, my longest chapter to date at around 4,646 words! I hope you all enjoy, even though I haven't had too many views. I guess I just gotta give it time!**

**Please read and review, the review count, favorite count and total number of follows are all sortable in the list and I hope this story becomes popular!**

**I write for my pleasure, and I derive said pleasure from you readers telling me I did a good job. But, I can't do a good job unless I know how I mess up- that's where you all come in!**

**So please, help an attention starved fanfic author? (Innocent whistling)**

**Anyway, without further ado-**

**Once more, with feeling!**

* * *

_**Chapter 3: Combative Reunion**_

Arendelle, Merchant District

Dawn came over the kingdom of Arendelle. The sleepy streets were slowly filling up with residents beginning their day, and the merchants started setting up their stalls in anticipation of a good day's profit. Docked ships were leaving, their business concluded and new ships were arriving, the dock master having to scurry about to keep up with the unusual number of merchantmen arriving that day. As the ships were tied up and inspected, no-one noticed the small rowboats deploy from some of the vessels, the cloaked figures slipping away in the dissipating morning fog.

At the gates the guard had just finished rotating, and the guard captain was instructing the fresh guards on what they should do if a certain man appeared.

"Okay boys, here is how you're gonna do this. You see a giant man, with an absurdly sized sword… What do ya do?" he quizzed. The captain believed that while discipline was good, too much formality would only serve to distance the guard from those they protected. Arendelle was unusual in this practice, but it meant that the guard was loved by the populace, and the guard was that much more focused on the good of the kingdom. Needless to say, there was little corruption in the ranks, and it showed.

"Well, how big a sword is 'absurd', cap? Like a claymore? 'Cause that caravan guard Keagan down there uses one… And we all know how he is." The guard scowled. Keagan was a well-known troublemaker, and the only reason he got away with anything is because although he was an ass, he was also good with his sword. As he worked as a caravan guard, it meant that he was almost untouchable by the guard. He was an ongoing issue the guards hated with a passion.

The captain barked a laugh, and then schooled his face into a serious mask. The guardsmen all stiffened at that: If the cap, a well-known easy going man was getting nervous about something, they had better damn well serious up and take notes.

"No, the man I'm describing is around seven feet tall, and wields what was described as 'A sharpened steel slab of a compensation tool'. As funny as that sounds, it appears that he wields a large claymore or other exotic Great-sword. If you see him, he will likely have a blindfold on, possibly a face-mask as well." He frowned and pointed at the company, which was shifting and loosening their swords in preparation of a fight. "Do not engage, get it? What we know of him shows that he could slice through our entire guard compliment and not be winded. Instead we are to invite him to a guest room in the castle and inform Her Majesty when he arrives."

The dozen men in at the post exploded.

"WHAT?" "We can't let a man that dangerous near the Queen!" "This is insane. Have you lost your mind cap?!" and various other exclamations of disbelief and doubt in the captain's sanity were thrown.

"**QUIET!"** The guard captain's sudden bellow silenced the agitated guards.

"This is an order from the Queen herself. I'm not able to tell you why, but please treat this man with courtesy- and _for the love of god_, _don't antagonize him!_ I would like to keep the market district intact, thanks. If there are no more questions of my sanity, then you are dismissed."

The soldiers, grumbling, acknowledged the dismissal and went to their posts, opening the main gates for business.

Nearby, the man they had been discussing was hunched over, gasping for breath as his chest felt like it was ripping open. _'Damn, I wasn't expecting the backlash to be this great so soon. I need to get horizontal, and soon if I wanna survive the hunter's coming. I'm too conspicuous in these rags… Looks like it's time to make use of Da's magic lessons!'_

At his decision, he clasped his hands in an odd position, as if resting them on a high shelf. With his brow furrowed in concentration, he let his magic flow over his rags, morphing and adding to them in a haze of black, red, and golden streaks as he lowered his hands. Once the light faded, he straightened up and glanced down at his new attire in satisfaction. His previously tattered black and grey rags were now a solid black leather armor set, consisting of pants and a red-steel studded jerkin over a soft gold and red flame patterned shirt. To top off the look, he had a black trench coat, woven with steel pads in the back and upper chest, with his modified Daemonic family crest embossed on the back in gold and red.

The crest was that of a phoenix starting to stoop into a dive. In the underworld, the crest was completed with a picture of a devourer demon, essentially a giant stomach with teeth, waiting at the end of the dive. His version showed the phoenix diving towards the holy cross, as if to perch. His blindfold changed as well- it became pure white, and was now wrapped all the way around his head, like a bandage, and not like a simple blindfold. His concealing hood was off, taking the mouth-area mask with it, revealing sharp cheekbones and a square jaw. Now free of the concealing hood and out from under the rags, his dark, golden-orange hair fell freely from his sharp ponytail, the crimson tips falling to his shoulder blades.

Overall, he looked like someone to avoid messing with. His next concern was his sword- he knew that it would be quite easily identified, if left as is. Thankfully, it was a demon-forged blade, and could take other forms. After a moment of thought, Atreyu decided that it would be best if he appeared as close to the opposite of what he did before. Luckily, he had a weapon that he loved to use in mind. As he cut his hand and dripped the welling blood onto the blade, he started chanting. Normally, he would have been able to do this without the blood and verbal spell, but with the pain and the fact that he was altering the very nature of his weapon, he wanted as much refinement and power flowing through his re-creation magic as possible.

Slowly, almost reluctantly, the massive slab of enchanted death warped and flowed into a new shape. It lost all definition, and slid into a curved shape, with two 2 foot long blades on the ends of the arch, both sharp enough to gouge solid rock. As the shape started to solidify, Atreyu took his bleeding hand and caressed the two ends of the re-curved shape, his blood solidifying into a dark red, almost black metallic cable that he stretched from one end to the next. When he was finished, he held a masterpiece that any archer would sell his immortal soul to own. He was holding a legendary Great-bow, a type of weapon rare even in the Demonic circles. The material that was not used in the bow had flowed and reshaped into a chain-mail baldric that had a sling for his bow in the back and contained a holster for the arrows (which were closer to small spears) that the weapon would fire. Atreyu took a minute to breathe and focus a small amount of power to his hand, causing the gash to steam and heal. After his would was closed, he grabbed a nearby boulder and performed a transformation spell on it as well, netting himself more than a few razor sharp obsidian great-arrows, the most of which he stowed in his jerkins' magically extended pockets, the last dozen which he holstered on the hip quiver.

He took a moment to consider something else, his hidden eyes narrowing in thought.

'_If I dawdle any more, I won't make it through town before collapsing. If I seal some of my powers, I might be able to stave off the pains, and the added bonus would be that my eyes would, supposedly, change to be more normal- not being attacked when people see my eyes would be nice.'_

Atreyu groans and puts his head in his hands, mind whirling furiously.

'_If I DID seal my powers, then I would be vulnerable to some of my demonic heritage's more... base traits. Not something I want to deal with, puberty was MORE than enough of that.'_

Atreyu doubles over, almost crying out at the explosion of agony searing through his chest at the newest flare up of his power.

'_Looks like I don't have a choice. Damn, I hope I don't make too much of an ass of myself.'_

After closing his eyes, he focuses inwards, into the whirling storm of his power, and PULLS. Almost all of his energies, inside and out are sucked violently into a small sphere that he then puts into a cage in his mind, visualizing his power being compressed and caged. All he had left at his disposal now were his healing magic, a small bit of his creation magic, (just enough to change the shape of objects) and what truly surprised him; his flame powers.

'_Huh, didn't expect that. Haven't even used them in years! Well, looks like I still have an ace in the hole.'_

With a small exertion, he created a sphere of dense, almost liquid flame and compressed it until it was almost physically solid. He then manipulated the shape into a flat oval, and used his creation magic remnants to bind the heat and pressure into a solid. He was left with a pure orange crystal mirror, the surface reflecting anything in it as well as a glass mirror due to the heat trapped within filtering the image clear. In curiosity, he lifted his blindfold and looked at his new eyes. He floundered for a second before he used his remaining magic to "see" through the mirror what he looked like.

He couldn't see. Not with his normal eyes.

"HA!"

His irises were white, and he had no pupils. At least, that is what others would see; but for now, he was blind. He had been operating with his powers so long that even suppressed, he didn't need sight to function well. So he wasn't too concerned about this outcome, except for the reactions of others.

In fact, there were only two times he had ever had his blindfold off since he was a teenager; Once, when his father first showed him Kiri, and the previous day, when he had looked upon the Ice Queen of Arendelle.

With an uncertain grimace, he replaced his blindfold and started making his way into the flow of visitors, merchants and farmers flooding into Arendelle.

If nothing else, today was going to be an interesting day for him and the royals.

Arendelle Castle, Courtyard

Elsa was bored. Utterly, mind-numbingly bored. The council session was over for today, with no new news of import to discuss. Business as usual was going on, and that was a good thing. She just wished that something would happen to break up the monotony! As she walked through the castle's garden, she took a moment to breathe and move before she went on to the main throne room, where the newest batch of supplicants would be able to come argue their case to the Queen if they felt that the legal system had failed, or if they had an unusual or ambitious project in mind. Sometimes these days could be interesting, but the most recent set of people had all been bickering money-hoarding merchants, and they had run her to the edge of her patience. She almost iced that one lecherous old man that kept eyeing her so creepily, but managed not to. Barely. The worst part was that he was due again today for a different issue. The queen sighed, and rubbed her temples to relieve her budding headache. The schedule wasn't full, so the lower classed workers and foreign visitors would be able to come in today, and she was not looking forward to using another set of interpreters.

With a melancholy smile and a sigh, she straightened up and headed towards the throne room. As she walked, she heard boisterous laughter and sweet, girlish giggles floating towards her, bringing a genuine smile onto her face. She couldn't ever bring herself to regret The Upheaval, since it was what had brought Kristoff and her sister Anna together. Shortly after the laughter had reached her, the source rounded the corner, making Elsa release a very undignified shriek of laughter at the sight.

Apparently Olaf had tried to hug one of the newer guards and had gotten his head punted off… and onto Kristoff's head, where he continued to try and direct his body to retrieve it. The bumbling body only succeeded in accidentally pulling his pants off, revealing reindeer themed boxers that made the Princess and the Queen break into howling gales of laughter. After they got settled and Kristoff was publicly presentable again, Anna started pestering Elsa about her day.

"Hey Elsa, did anything come up with the old coots?" she asked.

Elsa rolled her eyes at the undignified and very Anna-like nickname for the Council. "No, for once no one burned down the docks or exploded a stable house, so it all went okay." She smirked at that last comment, waiting on the reaction.

It wasn't a long wait. At the stable house comment, Kristoff blushed and shouted; "That was ONE TIME! How was I supposed to know reindeer gas was so flammable?!"

Anna smirked. "Well, you are always talking about how reindeer are better than people, so we though you knew!"

At this jab, the girls glanced at each other and started laughing again, making Kristoff grumble good-naturedly about the unfairness of sisters ganging up on him.

They passed the few remaining minutes until the audience joking and relaxing while they could. A couple of seconds before Elsa was going to enter the throne room, a guard came up and handed her a note informing her of a particularly odd request made by a man. A shocked and scared gasp escaped Elsa before she could stop herself. It was coming from a man matching most of the description of the figure from the wilderness. Shaken, Elsa handed the note to her sister to read. As Anna's eyes grew round with shock, Elsa screwed up her nerve to enter the room. Finally, she opened the doors and walked to the throne.

Castle Waiting Room

Atreyu was bored. Utterly, mind-numbingly bored. He had gotten to the gate, and the men there immediately reacted to his presence. He swore under his breath, and prepared to fight or run. To his great surprise, when they saw his bow and stature, they relaxed and simply offered to help him to the nearest armory so he could get a more manageable weapon. He had snorted and told them he could indeed use the weapon, and that he didn't need assistance. He did, however, ask about attending the public audience with the queen.

"Good sir, might I ask how I would ask for advanced medical aid from the castle? I have a very odd condition, and I need help not available normally to commoners or foreigners like myself." He inquired.

The guard looked startled. He had guessed that the man was completely bling because of the blindfold, and had assumed the man didn't know he was there with his partner. But here he was, looking almost straight at him!

Gathering himself, the guard answered; "Well, you are in good luck today my friend. The Queen is holding public audience today, so if you hurry to the castle you should be able to petition her aid."

Atreyu smiled. "Many thanks friend. As you can see, I am blind. Could you direct me to the castle?"

The guard blinked, dumbfounded. "Excuse my bluntness, but how do you use that monster of a weapon if you are blind? How do you get around at all?"

Atreyu adopted a long suffering air. "I was born blind, but with incredibly accurate other senses. I can function normally in a town if I can get directions to places, and in the wilderness I can track and navigate by the earth itself. It is an almost lost art, but it serves me better than eyes most of the time."

Impressed, the guard nodded and answered. "Well, that is incredible. It is heartwarming to know that even disabled people can lead great lives. Anyway, to get to the main castle gate, go straight to the main marketplace, and head towards the fountain. It is quite loud, so you should find it, no problem. From there, go halfway around the base of the fountain clockwise from the only protrusion on the fountain. From there, head straight and the castle guards will see you, and halt you before you go too far. Please don't take offense, you simply cut a very imposing figure, and it is their job to keep the royals safe."

Atreyu laughs a little, and nods. "Don't worry, I won't. I understand their jobs, and won't disrupt them if I can help it. And many, many thanks for translating the directions into something I can more easily use to navigate."

The guard nods, and claps Atreyu on the back. "No problem sir, and welcome to Arendelle!"

After that encounter, he headed to the main gate and explained his situation. He was let into the main waiting room, and was told that he was lucky, be had gotten the last open slot for the day. He was to see the Queen in two hours, and he should make himself comfortable.

As he settled into an overstuffed armchair, he noticed one of the guards glance at him, write something down and break off. He brushed it off as a man writing down the scheduled people, and then proceeded to try to nap for an hour. After dozing off for fifteen minutes, the pain returned with a vengeance, eliciting a pained cry from him before he could stifle it.

One of the stationed guards rushed over to him. "Sir, are you alright?!"

After catching his breath, Atreyu nodded. "Yes and thank you. That is actually why I'm here to see the Queen- to see if I can get medical assistance I otherwise couldn't."

The room's occupants nodded in sympathy, and the monotony returned, more stifling than before. More awake than ever due to the pain, Atreyu pulled out a small block shaped piece of redwood, and used the razor sharp tip of one of his great-arrows to carve it into a shape. The remaining time passes quickly, the rooms other occupants quickly dwindling until he was the last one. Realizing that he was to be called soon, Atreyu put away his things and made ready for a different first encounter.

With a creak, the doors opened. The herald asked his name, and Atreyu hesitated.

'_The church doesn't know my name, but if I am revealed now they will certainly learn. Ah, to hell with it.'_

"Announcing the traveler Atreyu, petitioning for medical aid from Queen Elsa of Arendelle!"

He walked in, and the room went silent.

He tensed, drew an arrow, nocked it to Kiri and loosed.

Screams exploded through the room, and chaos reigned.

Arendelle Castle, Throne Room

The day's supplicants slid by faster than normal for the Queen. The nervousness she felt towards the last appointment drowning out her normal reactions to the supplicants. Still, she was fair and impartial, and even set aside more time afterwards for the two large feuding families that had major grievances, even going so far as to allow them to remain in the room so they could discuss more afterwards.

Finally, the last call came. Elsa saw, out of the corner of her eye, the two feuding families tense up and spread out a bit. Chalking it up to nerves, Elsa motioned to the herald to let the mystery man in.

The man took a deep breath and cried:

"Announcing the traveler Atreyu, petitioning for medical aid from Queen Elsa of Arendelle!"

The giant man walked in, and the room went silent.

The families along the sides of the courtroom threw off cloaks, revealing crossbows and swords. The bowmen targeted Elsa, while the swordsmen rushed the guards and Atreyu.

Elsa froze in pure shock.

Atreyu tensed, drew an arrow, nocked it to the massive bow and loosed the projectile. For a fleeting second, it looked as if it was aimed at her, but it wasn't. Not that she could know that, as it hit the back of her throne hard enough to split the marble backing. A piece knocked her on the head hard enough to put her lights out, but the overall effect caused her to tumble out of the way of the oncoming arrows, saving her life. As the assassins reacted to this, Atreyu loosed three more arrows, targeting the larger clumps of hostiles. The massive arrows ripping through two, three, and even four attackers at once, Atreyu managed to cut the invaders numbers in half before the swordsmen were upon him.

As the assailants closed the distance, he stopped firing arrows, lowered himself into a stave-fighting stance and raised Kiri, brandishing the bladed ends.

The two forces met, and there was no more time to reason, only time to fight for his life. He spun, taking a man's head off with the bladed end even as the center of his bow smashed another attacker's nose, sending him to the floor, out cold. He finished the spin, ducking a broadsword, which he stepped on the flat of, ripping it out of the man's hands in time for him to be impaled by the sweeping end of Kiri. Atreyu grunted with (to him) minor effort and slung the dying man through the crowd, opening a hole to he could maneuver.

Reminding himself that he couldn't use too much of his supernatural strength without breaking his cover, he sprinted towards the throne dais, occasionally batting attackers away and dodging hastily fired crossbow quarrels. As he reached the throne, he noticed the temperature dropping rapidly, and braced himself. He took a more defensive stance, and started taking out the bowmen as a priority, only bothering with the melee fighters when they got too close. He was fighting for a good ten minutes before the Queen awoke and put a stop to the madness. As she got up, she set herself, bleeding though she was from multiple small cuts from breaking marble, and slammed the ground with her now bare foot.

A wave of frost shot across the floor, trapping all those who it contacted in an icy shell, stopping the fighting. Only the castle guard was left free, and they quickly took to arresting and disarming the still living assailants. Atreyu, encased in an ice shell triple the thickness of the others simply sat there and waited for the guards, or Elsa, to come kill him. In his sealed state, he couldn't access enough power to escape in one burst, and his flames wouldn't melt the ice in time. He saw the Queen, in a towering rage, come stalking up to him. He closed his eyes, waiting on the inevitable.

A resounding smack echoed across the throne room.

He opened his eyes in shock. The Queen, the ever calm, cold and collected ICE QUEEN OF ARENDELLE had just sucker-punched him in the face hard enough to break an average man's nose. As it was, he would have a lovely shiner from that. As Elsa visibly wound up for a rant, assistance came from an unusual source, one that had been hidden on a balcony the entire time.

"ELSA! HE SHOT THE ARROW TO SAVE YOU!" Screamed Anna.

Elsa looked up in shock. "Anna, what in the _hell_ were you doing up there?! I TOLD you to stay in the other room in case this sort of thing happened! And how do know what he did?! HE SHOT A GIANT ARROW IN MY DIRECTION!"

Anna replied, just as heatedly- "I couldn't let my SISTER go into a dangerous situation without me! WE ARE FAMILY! And I have a better vantage on the fight than you! He could just as easily have put that arrow through your chest, like he did those others!" she shouted, gesturing to the projectile victims.

Elsa looked, and was startled by the brutality and efficiency that the aftermath showed. Even blindfolded, he had hit center mass, and had done so to _multiple targets in a row, with ONLY ONE ARROW!_ As that fact penetrated the adrenaline haze, she relaxed a bit and ran a hand across her face.

"I'm sorry, Anna. I didn't see that before. But still, this man matches most of the description of that figure we encountered before. We can't trust him until we can confirm that they aren't one and the same. And how are we supposed to do that right now?!"

Anna stills, and says two words that both fill Atreyu with relief and trepidation.

"His eyes."

Elsa looks up at her sister, and blinks. "Oh, yes. I had forgotten about that." With that said she turns to Atreyu and takes a step closer. Before she can touch the blindfold, he speaks up.

"All I ask is that you don't pity me." He says.

'_His voice is smoother than the other mans, but similar.'_ thinks Elsa. With trembling hands, she reaches forward and undoes the opaque fabric.

A gasp echoes through the room as she comprehends what she sees.

Blank white irises, with no pupil. A man, apparently born blind.

No golden irises. No slitted pupil.

After recovering from yet another unexpected shock, Elsa released the man from the ice prison. As he straightened up, she held out her hand to shake.

"I offer my thanks to you for saving my life, and my apologies for treating you as I did without thinking. I am in your debt, mister Atreyu."

At Atreyu stands, he says; "Apology accepted, you Highne- AHHH!"

Crumpling over from the obscene pain in his chest, his vision fogs over, and he blacks out.

* * *

**A/N:**

**Please don't hate me, I just lost my inspiration right there! It kinda hurts me to do this to Atreyu, but his suffering and his eyes are a major thing! Like, a MAJOR thing!**

**Anyway, expect another chapter in the next couple of days. I will try to update as often as I get a good sized chapter written!**


	5. Chapter 4: Rebirth

**A/N: Well, now we be getting into the characters heads now, mate!**

**In other words, I'm switching perspective. I seem to be able to word things more fluently and in better logical progression when I write **_**as**_** one of the characters, as opposed to **_**about**_** one of the characters, so POV switch!**

**FYI, this may be permanent.**

**Onwards!**

Chapter 4: The Rebirth

I awoke in an unknown room, my mind in a fog of confusion and lethargy. For a brief, terrifying moment I couldn't even remember my own name, but it floated to me after a moment.

Atreyu. My name was Atreyu.

Holding on to this fact, I tried to pull my memories back, desperately searching for answers to questions I didn't ask. For an instant, for an eternity, I floundered in the dark.

Nothing came.

I finally relaxed, accepting that all I knew about myself was my name. The fog eased, and I could see that I wasn't in a room, but in a blank, white space with no dimension at all- a featureless void. I accepted this, and my mind cleared further.

I realized something, then: I needed to accept my circumstances, and work with them to figure out what had happened.

At this realization, I felt a pressure on my skull, and then…

I REMEMBERED. Felt my WHOLE life, from birth to the instant my face hit the audience chamber's floor, as if it was happening that same moment in time, and I wept.

For an instant, an eternity, I grieved.

Then I accepted.

Then, the voice spoke.

"Atreyu, the 'bold defender'. Ironic, seeing as your life ended before you could defend anyone but yourself… except one."

The voice was a bland emotionless monotone, and a symphony of joy. It was male, female, a total contradiction but in harmony with its chaos.

Before I could voice my reaction, it spoke again.

"Oh yes, you are indeed very dead, my lost Daemon Halfling. The idea to seal your powers backfired quite spectacularly, I'm afraid. You had said YOU would meet Elsa again, not a persona, and your bond punished you. In your weakened state, you could not resist the pain, and even your mighty heart gave out. But then, you knew this would happen, didn't you?"

I wanted to scream, to yell, to shout to the highest heaven and the deepest abyss that that was a lie, but here in this purgatory, this emptiness, truth came. "I did, yes. I was tired of living, and tired of being hunted for my ancestry. I know suicide is a sin, and that what passes for my soul will burn, but I am… satisfied, and have no regrets that Elsa is the one I gave my life for." At this revelation about myself, I smile a toothy grin. "I already knew her answer- only when I started to reach for my blindfold, a motion that must have looked like a vicious backhand to Elsa, did she retaliate. She was only saving her baby sister. She has no malice, no hatred, no… Wrath." At the name of the Deadly Sin, the emptiness almost flickered in surprise. I guess I'm more intuitive than I thought.

"I am glad that something pure could survive. I have no defense for my life, so… what I get," I brace myself. "I deserve."

The voice is silent. Then, as I begin to feel like I made a horrible misstep, the voice… laughs. A true, heartfelt laugh of… relief?

"Oh, son of the Traveler, it is _so_ refreshing to speak to one I cannot know, to one I cannot control except at the end of his all. You are truly unique, you know. Born of two worlds, holding magic from each! It is a break in the natural prophesy that I cannot ignore, and one I will certainly enjoy using."

Using. Being used. This turn of phrase set off alarm bells in my mind. The voice notices, and sooths my anxiousness.

"I only use this opportunity to keep the balance of the world turned to the side of the good, Atreyu. I would like to ask for your assistance in this, as I cannot compel free willed beings, nor would I ever want to. As the chief Deity of this universe, I ask you, Atreyu, the Bold Guardian, to return to the plane of the living and help the world prosper as you can."

The words hit me like a hammer blow. I couldn't believe it! I was ready to burn for eternity, and suddenly I'm given a free pass!?

The Voice returns, amused. "Alas, young one, not a 'free pass', as you put it. I cannot interfere on the mortal plane, and neither can my darker counterpart. If one wants to speak to us, they must use their own power. I channeled your sealed power to bring your mind here, and it must be anchored here to return your mind home."

I shivered. "My power was all I knew, all I could take pride in, besides my physical prowess. What use would I be without it?" I ask the voice.

In an understanding, and almost patronizing tone, it replies: "Yes, your _sealed_ power."

Finally, the penny dropped for me. "Whew, I almost thought you would send me in blind there. So I would still have what I had when sealed. But, what about my sight? Without my power, I really am blind."

The voice sounds almost irritated now. Sheesh, a God and no patience! "You sense with your soul, Atreyu, not your magic. It was simply a conduit for it before, and when you return it will be even more sensitive. Work at it, and you may even be able to channel that part of your soulthread to your eyes and truly see again. But not for years, I believe."

With a smile, I nod. "I'll go back. I accept your deal, and-"

The Voice interrupts me once more, although this time apologetic, and… nervous? Uh-oh. "Wait, eager one. I need to tell you one last thing. You will not remember any of this, and you will not remember your parents except in a vague fashion, as those links could drag you back here."

Damn, talk about hard bargains. "I would be starting over, yes? So, while I will miss my parents, I will truly be a new person…"

I pondered. Reasoned. Remembered, and smiled.

"Da always said that sometimes, to do the right thing, you need to go back to the drawing board. Looks like that's what I'm doing, Da, Mum. Be proud of me!" With those words, I felt acceptance and joy come from the Voice, an as my mind faded, I heard two voices, one male and one decidedly feminine, say one thing.

"We are, Atreyu. We love you."

All went white.

Arendelle Castle: Infirmary

The triage antechamber was filled to capacity by a motley group- from the gate guard who greeted Atreyu when he arrived, to the guard Captain, to even the member of the staff that had checked on him as he had waited for an audience, many who had only just seen him had shown up to show support for the hero who had saved the beloved Queen of Arendelle. When an Auxillum, the Arendelle ***** version of a medic came out, everyone looked up, waiting to hear the news. Even the Queen stood in anticipation.

What was said chilled them all, one more than the rest.

"I am sorry my Queen, but his heart has stopped. We… can do no more."

At this unexpected pronouncement, the air went cold, colder than whenever Elsa voluntarily used her powers; her grief was that unexpected, that strong. As the windows froze over and the candles guttered lower, Anna began to worry about her sister's state. But then, after a steadying breath, Elsa focused, and the room returned to normal.

In a resigned and pained voice, she asked the question that was on all those present's minds.

"How did he die?"

The Auxillum's voice was kind, but uncertain. "We are not sure, my Queen. He had no physical wounds, and he seemed in exceptional health. Without a…" at this, the medic winced. "Well, without performing an autopsy, we cannot be sure how he died. You did say he was seeking unique medical help; this condition that ended his life is probably what he was referring to."

The Queen thought in silence for a moment, and then spoke in a clear, carrying voice, regret and resignation hanging heavily in her tone.

"No, no autopsy shall be performed. He did a great service to the Crown, and he shall be buried with dignity, his body untouched by blade or knife."

Solemnly, the Auxillum answered. "As you wish, my Queen. Did this extraordinary man have any kin?"

Anna spoke to this, her sister having withdrawn into her own thoughts.

"Not that we know, sir. He came here alone, and never mentioned his past or anything."

At this, the Auxillum frowned. "Hmmm. Did he even mention a family name?"

This brought them all up short- he hadn't, in fact, and that was a very unusual fact. Even the meanest vagrant could lay claim to a family name, even if exiled from said family.

The door behind them burst open, and a weak looking nurse dashed in, face laced in equal amounts of panic, shock and elation.

"A-Auxillum! His heart, it has begun beating again!"

The medics shot back through the door at this, the shocked Queen abandoning all decorum and following at a dead sprint with Anna and Kristoff close behind.

As they arrived in the operating room, the surgeons flailing in panic. They had examined the patient, and he had simply… died before they could do anything at all, and now he lives again?! The most religious ones were alternately blaming a miracle and the others calling necromancy.

-Ice Guardian-

As I awoke, the first thing I noticed was the sharp, acrid smell of alcohol and medical herbs.

The second thing I noticed were my memories fading- before they went away, I fixed the thought that it was meant to happen in my mind, so I wouldn't panic.

The THIRD and most interesting thing I noticed was the Queen bursting into the room just as I sat up, and her face going from shock to happiness to wariness so fast it was almost unnoticeable.

'She certainly adapts quickly,' I muse.

She remains silent as Anna and Kristoff arrive, and keeps them out of the way as the medic clears the room and checks my vitals.

"Well, you certainly are an unusual one, no?" he says as he times my pulse for the third time. "First you almost collapse in the waiting chamber, then you fight off an unusually large assassination attempt, THEN you _literally drop dead and come back._" He sighs, and pulls away while rubbing the bridge of his nose in an attempt to hold off the massive headache forming.

"Well, as far as I can tell, you are quite well. But as you came here for medical assistance, why don't you tell ME if you are OK, and what we can do to help."

A small smile forms on my face, and I answer. "Well, sir, I was coming here because I have a rare condition that the Queen is particularly suited to help me with."

Around the room, eyebrows were raised, and Elsa looks intrigued. Giving in to her curiosity, she comes over and addresses me.

"Well, good sir, I would love to help you, seeing as you saved my life. What can I do, and more importantly, why is it _me_ that can help you?"

With a sly smirk, I hold my hand up, cup the other over it and answer, the words resounding in my head, molding my memories to match.

"Well, my issue is this: my… ability… causes problems with my heart if I do not use it. I simply need a place and location to do this, but my ability is destructive." At this, I open my hands, a ball of pure white flames hovering there, lighting up the room.

The room erupts with questions from Anna and Kristoff, while Elsa is shocked into silence.

"WHOAH, that is _so cool!_ How do you do that, can you make things, can you make other colors, can fire burn you? Does the cold affect you?"

Kristoff was just as curious, but thankfully not as prolific with his questions. He was also quite keen to know the answer to his only question.

"… Can you control it?"

At this, the room quiets and they all look at me, the question in their eyes.

I roll my eyes, and a bark of laughter escapes my throat. "Of course I can! It is simply that if my power builds up, it takes quite a bit more concentration to control, and harms me when I do not let it out, like an ember held in a glove too long."

After a second of looking intently at Elsa, a moment of intuition comes over me.

"I do believe that it is the same with you, my Queen. When Ice is caged, it presses and shatters the cage in a violent manner, similar to how it burst from you at your coronation. With Ice, however, if you manage to truly contain it, it only becomes stronger. So, with that in mind, Queen Elsa, you could easily be more powerful than me, given time."

Elsa looks at me in surprise and a little bit of scorn. "What makes you think your power is stronger than mine? I froze an entire kingdom!"

I look her in the eyes and smile. It was not a nice smile; it was full of sadness and a bit of malice. I answer in a slow monotone, giving the impression that I am reciting by rote.

"Well, now, that is impressive. But when you have a power associated with the devil, you are chased by many different types of zealots. One particularly sadistic type managed to catch me in the middle of a village, where they knew I wouldn't use my power; they brought me to an island, one twice the size of Arendelle's entire landmass."

As I watched this soak in, I steadied my nerves; this was an action I was not proud of, but it had to be told.

"They tortured me for days, my power sealed by 'Holy' silver manacles." I put air quotes around the word Holy to show I thought they were nothing of the sort. "They managed to break my body, and were about to break my mind. Then, one guard slipped in a puddle of my blood and dropped my shackle's key. I unlocked the chains before he could recover and… I let my power out."

I paused and considered my wording.

"No, not let it out. I FORCED it out, every tiny bit I could manage, making the flames hotter and hotter, more potent than I could ever have guessed I could."

"Then, I released them from my form. To truly understand what happened you need to see it yourself; with your permission, I can show you."

This perked their interest. Ever the curious one, Anna asked the obvious question.

"How? Will you pull us into your memories?"

I laugh. "Even better, I will show you my _Flame's memories_. And on a mirror I will create, to answer one of your previous questions."

They blink in astonishment at my answer. Elsa, still visibly irked by my declaration, smirks and nods once.

Slowly, with intense concentration, I repeat my creation of a Flame Crystal, but much bigger and I place it in full view of the room. Their awestruck faces in reaction to my power are a real ego boost, but I still have yet to show them the scene.

With a heavy and nervous heart, I begin.

"Now, I will show you what happens when you release a second sun on the earth. I will show you my most glorious moment, and what is also my darkest hour." Before they could do more than gape, I delve into my power and my darkest memory, and pull it into the now.


	6. Chapter 5: Recollection of a Second Sun

**A/N: I am beginning with a flashback, so be prepared for lots of violence and some… moments.**

Chapter 5: The Recollection of a Second Sun

I was in _pain_. I couldn't breathe, I couldn't EXIST without a part of me burning in pure agony. All my fingers were broken; both my arms were essentially meat and gravel. Hell, my entire BODY was meat and bone gravel, but I was still alive, my tiny amount of available power working overtime to heal me. I resisted its inclination, sending what I could into my hand so I could make an opening if I could; it was my best option. It was my only option.

As the guards dragged me down the stone hallway, giving me kicks every few feet, I was thinking madly, trying to figure ANY way out of this; I was going to my execution, and was about to be beheaded by some brute of a religious zealot.

When the guard slipped on my blood covering his boot, it was as if God himself had smiled on me. I quickly grabbed the dropped key before they noticed, and received a kick to the face, losing one of my remaining teeth in the process. As they dragged me, I removed one of the charms on the waist shackle, feeling a greater amount of magic flow through me. I could tell I was able to burst my bonds now, but I directed it to heal me instead; if I got free here, the guards would kill me before I dragged myself a foot.

Slowly, I was pulled into the courtyard and closer to my execution. As I got to the raised plinth where I was to lose my head, I finally felt well enough to try to escape. A sight I glimpsed stopped me, though.

They had the villagers I had been staying with lined up, kneeling with the guards holding crossbows to their heads.

What the head 'Priest' said, and did, next is what drove me to use my flames.

"Kill the heretics that allowed a demon to live near them without offering resistance. Remove their taint from the world."

Jerking against the chains, I built my power, desperately trying to get free before the deed was done. I was a half-second too slow.

*Twang* *Twang* *Twang* *Twang* *Twang*

*Thump* *Thump* *Thump* *Thump* *Thump*

*Tink* *SNAP*

As their bodies hit the floor, I burst free, and grabbed the so-called priest by the throat. Before the soldiers could react I said one thing, and released the pure undying rage within.

"_**BURN, YOU SON OF A BITCH!"**_

The world went white. I was conscious of one sight- the man I was holding being reduced to ash, and the ash to dust within a fraction of a second.

The sound, though, was beyond comprehension. I was in the epicenter, so my ears didn't burst, but…

It was as if a God had roared in rage, like the Devil himself had vented his complete wrath on the island I was on. It went on for only a few seconds, but when the sound cleared, and the wall of white disappeared, I saw only one thing:

Glass.

There was no more castle, there were no more gates. There was no forest, just crackling glass as far as the eye could see.

Just glass and steam.

I wandered, shocked, in the aftermath for days, my freed magic sustaining me. I soon discovered that I had not only vaporized the island, but a good chunk of the mountains that surrounded it too.

This let the sea in, slowly but surely turning what would normally be a verdant valley into a Fjord closed to all but rowboats.

After a while, I fashioned a small, but crude boat and set myself adrift, finally coming back to the mainland after a week of drifting.

-Ice Guardian-

I opened my eyes, and took in their reactions. Anna was half hiding behind Kristoff, who was staring at me like I was liable to go off at any second.

Elsa… She was an unreadable wall. With an inscrutable stare, she seemed to evaluate me for a moment, and then left, pulling Kristoff and Anna with her.

I grimaced. "That could have gone better."

Tired from my revival and the emotional trauma from revisiting that incident, I fall to sleep quickly, not noticing the evil glare and smirk given to me from one of the younger Auxillum.

Arendelle Castle, Queen's Study

"Elsa, talk to me! I know that was scary, but you need to at least _say something!_ For god's sake, you're _icing the floor!_"

At this near panicked exclamation, Elsa finally snapped out of her panic. Taking a deep breath, she focused and dispelled the ice as she exhaled.

Somewhat calmer now that she had taken a moment, Elsa looked around the study. Anna was worried, but it looked like she was more worried for Elsa at the moment, so Elsa turned her attention to Kristoff. Kristoff, now, was a totally different story. He looked troubled, and seemed to be thinking hard on something. Finally looking up, he put on a serious expression that made both Elsa and Anna pay complete attention to his next words.

"I know where he was showing us. I've been there, when I went on an excursion with the other ice harvesters. The glass on the lake's floor is an oddity, and they take it for keep-sakes and good luck charms." He looked decidedly ill. "The area he destroyed is indeed much bigger than Arendelle."

"Elsa, he could kill the entire kingdom if he snaps."

Elsa didn't even flinch at this blunt declaration- she already knew. She could sense the truth through his power, and the truth scared the shit out of her. Turning to an armchair, she flopped bonelessly into it in a very undignified manner, too tired and stressed to care about decorum.

"I know. I could feel the truth through that mirror thing of his. The real question is, what do we do now? He did save me, but his raw destructive power… Well, I can't even begin to imagine."

Anna piped up now. "Elsa, you can't judge him by that! He had been _tortured_! He _saw innocents being murdered because of him!_ It's a miracle that he simply didn't give up." At this, she crossed her arms. "Yes, I'm scared by him now. So? All it means is that he needs your help _more_ Elsie. He needs your support to cope with that. Even if it was years ago, you can tell that it still feels fresh to him."

Elsa looked up at Anna's old nickname for her, and smiled. "Yeah, you're right Anna. I need to be understanding, now more than ever. I'll go see him in the morning, when we're better-"

The study door banged open, the guard from Arendelle's gate standing there, holding a bleeding arm.

"Fanatics are trying to get in here and the infirmary! Probably the ones Atreyu showed us, too! We need to leave _NOW_, your Highness!"

Jolted to action by his sudden entry and declaration, the group moved to the door. As they dashed into the hall, Elsa made a snap decision and turned left, towards the medical wing, rather than right, towards the exit. Anna, guessing what Elsa was going to do, followed without comment, making Kristoff come too. Guards arrived at a crossing hallway, shouting obscenities as they ran. The bewildered guard joined in the new fight, shouting, "Princess Anna, Queen Elsa! Run, go! We will hold them off!"

As the trio ran down the hallways, Elsa's thoughts were whirring, trying to come up with a plan. But, underneath all the thoughts of how to evade the attackers and plans to escape, one thought shone darkly.

"What if he releases his flames like he did before?"

-Ice Guardian-

A loud thud awoke me. As I looked to see what was happening, the curses and cries of "Die demon!" and other curses penetrated the fog of sleep, and brought me to wakefulness instantly. Looking around the room, I realized that I didn't have Kiri. My heart dropped at this; it was my best, and at the moment, only armament to my name, other than my flames. Another loud impact rang out again, the reinforced door cracking.

'Out of time', I thought. I needed a weapon, and although I loathed the idea of using my flames after I showed Elsa and the others, my abilities were my only option, as I was still recovering from my revival.

Exerting _all_ my willpower, I focused pure, white flames into my hands, compressing it until it was hair thin on the edges, and only a quarter-inch thick in the middle. I elongated the shape until I held a longsword sized flame blade. Pausing to bind it to the shape, I then repeated the task. Then, I joined the two in the middle, forming a double-bladed sword staff. I cooled the flames on the handle from white-hot incandescence to a pale, ethereal blue. Then, I bound the three pieces together into one magically bound shape, letting the heat from the ENTIRE construct only emanate from the edge, and even then only for an inch.

Armed with a sword of unparalleled deadliness, I set myself and waited. I didn't sit idle long, though. On the next hit, the door burst from its frame and across the room. Three men came in, one with an axe and two with swords. More were waiting outside, but I didn't have time to worry about them; I had to fight.

The battle calm descended upon me, and I struck. The man with the axe took a step into the room further than his flanking swordsmen, and took a wild swing at my head. Ducking the horizontal strike, I whipped one end of my blazing blade up, cutting through the solid steel axe-head and sending molten steel spattering across the man's face. He fell back, screaming painful obscenities as the two swordsmen stepped further into the room. They swung at the same time, one high and one low.

I couldn't block this, my staff-sword would simply make the blades come off and stab me in slightly different places. I couldn't dodge, there was no room. I couldn't use my flames; they were tied up in the blade. So, I used _myself_. I pushed magic into my legs and jumped, going my height straight up, the swords whiffing by underneath me. As I landed, I flourished my blade, cutting the sword hands off the men and sending their blades to the floor. As they thrashed, I kicked them both in the head to keep 'em out of the fight, and turned to the doorway, advancing through.

I entered the main medical foyer. Guards were fighting feverishly against the zealots. Those fighting here were armed more with daggers and farm equipment, so they must be the more 'fire and brimstone' followers. Probably all local, and all untrained. I bulled my way into their midst, lashing out with my fists, feet and elbows to knock out the followers, saving my flame-staff for the zealots. Between the guards and me, we got rid of the intruders in a couple of minutes. With my efforts to be non-lethal, we had quite a few prisoners. We dragged them into an empty room and locked it. Then, once the guards were patched up and ready, we rushed into the hall, and out into the fountain plaza where the main fighting was.

We arrived to a disturbing and familiar sight. A man dressed in over the top religious garb had a row of bowmen holding disarmed guards at bow point, and as the fighting was going, he was preaching, of all things!

As the guards and I waded into the fight, the preacher saw me, and started shouting his drivel. I was beyond caring at this point, I wanted him _gone_. As I came closer, one thing he said penetrated the haze of rage:

"Thou shalt not come closer, daemon, if thou wish thine yonder men to live!"

That stopped me, and the guards, cold. We backed off, the enemy assailants regrouping behind the preacher.

The priest smirked, and proceeded to gloat about the righteousness of god and this holy mandate and blah blah blah. For the love of god, couldn't he get to the point!?

Finally, he did. "You there daemon! You will cede your sword to me and die by it, if you wish these men to live!"

Inwardly, I smirked. In this situation, I had the advantage- my sword couldn't hurt me, and when I got closer I could move fast enough to intercept the bolts, as this time the bowmen were farther away. Looking at the priest, I asked one thing; "If I do, do you vow to release these men? They are only defending the castle, not me."

The priest made a show of thinking about it, and then nodded. I walked up to him, making the handle of my sword touchable to normal people so he wouldn't cry foul and kill the prisoners before I could get close enough. As he took it in an awkward grip, and forced me to kneel, he said exactly what I expected.

"Kill the heretic's guards, men! Do it for the glory of the great one!"

He said this as Elsa entered the room, her eye wide at the words. When her eyes met my blindfold, I could feel the fear erupt from her. I understood; she was fearful that I would explode again, but this time, I wasn't crippled. This time, I could _win!_

The bows fired as the priest swung the sword down. I focused my magic, and **pulsed** my powers, making the sword erupt, vaporizing the damnable preacher and charring the ground, and returning the rest of my control. Now armed with my full faculties, time slowed for me. I dashed out of the smoke generated by my sword erupting, moving so fast the air felt like thick mud. I sprinted to the hostages, arriving just as the bolts exited the crossbows. I decided simplicity was best, and just grabbed the bolts out of the air, and removed the crossbows and swords from the attackers, throwing them high into the air, out of the way. Still moving incredibly quickly, even though the boost was fading fast, I bull-rushed the line of guards, making the entire thing look like I simply plowed them out of the way to save the hostages. As time resumed, I felt the chill to the air intensify, and then abate as Elsa froze the attackers in place where I left them. Breathing hard, I turned to her, taking in her relieved, slightly flushed face. I decide to be a little snarky, though.

"Well, hello my Queen! Were you perhaps expecting something more… violent?" At my pointed comment, her expression runs through a series of intriguing changes, before settling into happy relief. Before it did, though, I saw flashes of hurt and sadness, making me feel like I kicked a puppy. Damn, I got it bad, huh?

I quickly amend my statement. "Well, I have learned much since then, so there is no need to worry about that happening. I should have told you about my seal earlier, huh?"

She shoots a confused look at me. "What _are_ you talking about?"

I hold up my arm, showing an intricate tattoo in silver. "This seals around 80% of my power, making me _unable_ to do what I showed you without preparation, and a huge exertion of willpower. I left it out without thinking, huh?" I say sheepishly.

Elsa blinks, shocked. Then, moving gracefully, she walks up to me, turns and-

*whack*

-Lightly slaps the back of my head while giggling. "Just don't do it again, ok Trey?"

I raise an eyebrow at the nickname. "Only if I can call you Elsa. Deal?"

She giggles again, holding her hand out for a handshake. I take her hand, and we shake.

"Deal."


	7. Chapter 6: Cleanup, Recovery, and ?

**A/N: And… chapter SIX!**

Chapter Six: Cleanup, Recovery, and…

The efforts to restore order to the castle went quickly, and with few hitches. The remaining free zealots went berserk when they heard that their leader was dead, but with the full force of the guards arrayed against them, they were quickly subdued. The mob followers had fled even before the news, and the stragglers were caught, as well. All were transferred to holding cells, and guards were stationed at double strength. Cleanup from the damages was quick; the fighting had not involved any wide area-of effect equipment, so the only damage was to a few tapestries from crossbow fire and a few pictures and tables unlucky enough to be struck during swordfights. I was doing my part to help with the repairs, holding up heavy tables and re-mounting damaged doors. The servants were very happy about that; the doors were iron-bound and incredibly heavy to lift, and I was just holding them up! Anyway, after a long day of repairing the castle and having servants constantly fight over who would have my help next, I was _quite_ ready for a respite; when the dinner call came, I nearly collapsed in relief. Making my way to my room to freshen up, I make a decision over what to do with myself- I had, at the moment, only two real options.

One, find a job myself in the village. I was not averse to this; I had always worked for a living whenever I could. But the royals were so kind to me here, and I wanted to repay them as best I could.

That led me to my second option;

Offer my services to the kingdom, and come clean.

GAH! Freaking dilemma. Option one is the safest, but reeks of cowardice. Option two is the most, well, "noble" I suppose, but… it has a large chance of backfiring, and BADLY.

Well, I always charged in headfirst before, why should now be different?

Resolve set, I return to my room and prepare. I change my clothes into what they had first seen me in, and apply a temporary glamour, looking like my old self now. I look over at Kiri, and decide to leave it as is and go without. I was intimidating enough without it. My memories of my origin were hazy, but I do recall that I had originally looked like this, and I could see why people had seen me as a demon.

Taking my appearance and clothing in, I store them in my mind and place my regular appearance back into the fore, at least for now. Taking a steadying breath, I leave towards the dining room, not looking back.

-Ice Guardian-

In the dining room, the royals were discussing the matter of the demon even as Atreyu made ready to reveal himself. Anna had a definite opinion, and Elsa even approved of it; she just wasn't ready to face the figure that inspired so many... _feelings._

Kristoff, however, was simple and blunt in saying what needed said;

"We need to be careful. I know that the man...demon…thing… whatever it was is dangerous, but it also spared you and us when it was painfully obvious that it could use us as toothpicks. I get the feeling that it won't hurt us, but please, Elsa, Anna, don't provoke it."

Elsa nods, seeing where Kristoff was coming from, but Anna, hotheaded as ever, digs her heels in.

"Kristoff, when did I ever provoke it? Why would I even do something like that?!"

Kristoff just shrugs and answers; "There IS a reason I call you feisty-pants, Anna."

She just huffs and crosses her arms, looking down. Elsa takes the opportunity to interject;

"Well, he did attack first, so why wouldn't he do so again?"

Anna glowers at Elsa at this, and Elsa crumples under the angry glare.

"A-alright, we may have given him cause- accidently! – to retaliate, but still. We can't see him until I have a plan to deal with him should he be a problem."

Anna and Kristoff share a sad glance; they know that there is no talking Elsa out of this.

As normal dinner conversation resumes, the group starts to eat, not noticing at first that their guest of honor is absent. After about ten minutes, Elsa looks up with a frown, and asks a question;

"Hey, does anyone know what's keeping Atreyu?"

At the bewildered looks, she makes a snap decision. Getting up, she heads out of the hall, Anna and Kristoff following after a moment of deliberation.

Elsa turns to them with a concerned frown of her face. "Atreyu was really looking forward to this dinner, so it's weird that he hasn't arrived yet. He may be having more trouble with his powers. Will you help me look for him?" Getting firm nods from her sister and her boyfriend, they head out to the courtyard to split up. When they arrive, they are greeted by something that shocked them to the core.

Sitting on the fountain, with hands clasped in a thoughtful pose, was the figure from the wilderness.

Watching. Waiting.

As the trio turn to run, the earth rumbles, and ornate gates made of stone rise and block their path.

Frightened but determined, Elsa turns to the figure, and let's fly with her inner turmoil.

"Damn you, you bastard! You ask why I stabbed you in the chest, and you can't see it yourself?! You held MY SISTER **BY THE THROAT!** You threatened her, and had attacked! You asked if I struck out of fear or love; I answer you! It was both! Now, what do you say?!"

The figure rises, and the gates sink into the earth once more. The man walks closer, until he is face to face with a quivering Ice Queen. Slowly, he lowers his blindfold, revealing slitted, golden eyes. Then, in an eerily familiar voice, it answers.

"I know, Elsa. I know, because I have been with you for the past day."

-Ice Guardian-

I waited at the fountain, knowing that they would come there when they went looking for me. Donning my old looks, I sit and ponder.

I don't wait long, though- they arrive quite suddenly. When they see me, they turn to flee. I need to confront them, so I use my power to raise gates formed from the earth, blocking them. I weather Elsa's tirade; I deserved nothing less, and probably lots more, besides.

Slowly, with great reluctance and trepidation, I lower my blindfold and meet her eyes.

Then I answer, speaking the two sentences that could make or break my life.

"I know, Elsa. I know, because I have been with you for the past day."

I wait for the reaction, but all I get is blank confusion and fear. I didn't want to do it this way, but I have to. I drop my glamour, making sure they know that it was my old appearance that was the illusion.

I am greeted by a shocked gasp from Anna, a small scowl from Kristoff…

*WHACK*

And a stinging, open handed slap from Elsa.

She turns to walk away, and… I I can't let it sit like that!

Words tumble from my mouth, unmeasured and unfiltered. Straight from my soul, I speak.

I talk to her, frozen in mid stride at my words. I speak of my life, all alone. I speak of the persecution, the torture, the hunting, things I never thought I would have the courage to even _think_ of _hinting at._ It all comes out, a heartfelt plea for just… I don't know.

"I… I don't know what to do with myself now. I can't go back to the mountains; I can't stay in town with the zealots here. I can't go abroad; I have no coin, and there are others abroad that hunt me too. I have no place, no home. I was born in the borders of Arendelle, so I feel like it is the closest thing I have to a home. I can't… Elsa, please _say something!_"

Voice quivering, she answers. With her words, I feel my world shatter and my soul break. "You say you have no home but Arendelle, but you don't belong here- you hurt my family. You did save the guards, and for that I will do you a small kindness- banishment rather than execution. You have no coin? So be it- you will be shipped out at cost to the Crown, left at a major port of call. You will leave here, and never darken our doorstep further. So say I."

I sob and collapse. She just… keeps walking. Guards come out of the woodwork, having followed the Queen from the dining hall at a distance, and manhandle me out of the castle. I don't resist. Why would I? I have no more place in the world. As they bundle me into a merchant vessel owned by Arendelle, I look up at the darkening sky, and let my final hope go.

(Background song- Far From Home by Five Finger Death Punch)

For weeks, I wander the woods outside of the port city they left me at, never straying too close to the city, and never quite leaving either. The weeks turn into months, and I make shelter in a cave. All I am waiting on it for the church to find and kill me; everything else is just a grey blur, not important. I live in this dead existence for three years, before a young couple enter the clearing at the mouth of my cave and set a picnic. The only thing that drifts through my grief addled mind is that they would hate me, too. Then, I hear the wolves. They had left me alone, sensing an apex predator that they didn't want to mess with. But now, starved by the brutal summer, they were hungry enough to approach the couple and attack. Even through my pain, I cannot let innocents come to an ugly, brutal death when I can help it; even broken, my nature shines through. As the wolves circle, I pull my power along my body, cleaning it and reforming my rotted rags into worn, but serviceable hunter's leathers in dark brown. I leave my blindfold off, as I have no need to hide my eyes now. Now looking less like a terrifying Sasquatch, I leave the cave with a leap and land between the wolves and the young pair. Their gasp of surprise is drowned out by the snarls of the wolves, driven beyond hunger by the drought, ignore their instincts to run, and charge me instead. I brace myself, and I move. Working within the barest limits of my body, I stop the charge cold. The first wolf to dash forwards, I sidestep and punt into the circling outliers, sending them rolling in a tumble of fur and teeth. The next two leap in from opposite directions, and I just duck and let them collide before grabbing the stunned canines by the scruff and, again, toss them back into the pack. The Alpha finally sees what is happening, and backs off. It is a testament to the power of hunger that it takes the pack a moment to see that, and a moment longer to follow. That chore taken care of, I turn back to the couple. They are in each other's arms, weeping openly in relief. Seeing that they are safe, I turn to walk away. The man stops me with a hand on the shoulder.

"What is your name, friend, and why do you leave? You just saved us! We need to celebrate our continued life!" The young woman nods along in agreement. I turn to face them, and they see my eyes. The woman puts a hand to her mouth in shock, and the man swears under his breath. "Sir, you just saved us, and you are not even able to see! Surely you are blessed by the gods. We shall take you to temple straight away! They might even name you a saint!"

This tweaks my soul in an old, uncomfortable way. Hard, course laughter bubbles from my throat at this. The man and woman flinch at the mirthless sound. I speak for the first time in years, my voice nigh-unrecognizable from disuse.

"I am no saint, lad. I am quite sure that the temple would kill me as a demon once they saw me, regardless of the truth; they have tried before. No, all I want from your gratitude would for you to live on, and tell nobody where I live."

He blinks, nonplussed. Finally, he nods. "I will not tell anyone where you live, then, sir. But still, I would have your name, so I know who to thank."

His earnestness almost grates- almost.

Cracking a mirthless smile, I speak to him as I turn away.

"My name is useless; it translated to "Bold Guardian", as it were. I never guarded anyone; I only brought pain. Call me the hermit; it will do."

Then, with a flicker of power to my legs, I disappear into my cave, faster than he could see.


	8. Chapter 7: This Carnival of Souls

**A/N: Nothing clever to deliver up here.**

Chapter 7: This Carnival of Souls

After saving the young couple, my days seemed the tiniest bit brighter. The pain was the smallest bit less, and the grey that was my life started to change. I had been ready to simply go back into my depression and loneliness, waiting to die, but memory of the man I had saved would not let me be. A week after I had saved the couple from the wolves, I decided to go to the city for supplies; my flint had been used up, and I was loathe to use my power in anything less than an emergency.

So, after cleaning myself up as best I could, I made my way into town and down to the marketplace. After being alone for so long, the sheer crush of people and smells and things was distressing and panicked me. It didn't really help that the circus seemed to be in town, and that a whole bunch of different people were rushing the city; the streets were a carnival of souls. To try to regain my calm, I walked to the nearest restraint and pulled up a menu to hide my face, still breathing heavily from the claustrophobia I had felt.

Slowly my panic faded, and as I just started to finger the page of my menu, wondering how to order when I couldn't sense the ink well enough to read the well-worn paper, the young waitress came over to ask me for my order. When I lowered my menu from my face, she lets out a shocked gasp of recognition- she was the woman from the couple I had saved.

"Ohmigod, you're the hermit-man who saved my husband and me! I never thanked you; I was too caught up in the shock! Oh, I _have_ to show you to the other waitresses; they never believed me! I will be right back!"

She darts off in a scurry of happy energy, and I'm left at my table wondering what just happened, before memories of Anna come to the front of my mind, the waitresses' demeanor matching Anna's to a tee. My depression rears its ugly head, and I almost give in and leave, but as I begin to rise, the woman scurries back with two other girls trailing behind, looking like they expected an empty booth. When they saw me, their eyes went wide and they started whispering to each other.

I had to repress a shiver at what they had said; the innuendos they spouted were _quite_ unsuited to polite company. Sometimes having enhanced senses is a gift; this was _not_ one of those times.

Anyway, the Anna doppelganger was towing them to me and almost in front of me when she stopped, and seemed to think of something.

"Oh! That's right; you don't even know my name! I'm Samantha, and these two are Laura and Liz!"

Laura and Liz seemed amused at her antics. Liz donned a long suffering expression and pulled Samantha to the side and whispered to her.

"Sam, you do know that he can't see, right? So how would he know we are even here! Airhead." The airhead comment grated on me a bit, so I went with the disbelief factor.

I stood to my full height, making the two waitresses who hadn't seen me before gulp in surprise. Their eyes nearly pop out of their heads when I turn and look them in the eyes and hold my hand out to shake. "Laura and Liz, was it? Nice to meet you! As Samantha here knows, I don't really care for my name. So please, call me Buraindo, and yes, I am blind, but my other senses compensate for it quite well. On a different note, innuendos like those I overheard earlier are more suited for a bedroom, not a public café, if you catch my meaning."

Judging from their now-flaming faces and nervous twitches, I had caught them red handed, and they knew it. Changing the subject, I turn to a cranky looking Samantha and begin a different conversation.

"Well, Samantha, how is your husband doing? I hope you two are doing well, and I mean to pass along apologies for my lack of manners from when I saw you last; living in the woods for years tends to have a deleterious effect on social skills."

With a chuckle at my words, she answers. "Oh, there is no need to apologize; we understood that you were living out there for a reason. We even contemplated coming back to see you, but we never got up the nerve for it, sorry."

I shrug. "That's ok; I was never a social butterfly anyway, hence being a 'hermit'. I had come into town today to pick up some basic supplies that I had run out of, so if you will excuse me, I think that I won't cut into your work any longer."

She looks a bit sad that I'm going, but smiles and waves me on. "Well, it was good to see that you are doing well! Take care, and thanks again for saving us!"

I turn, and give her my first genuine smile in years. "It was my pleasure."

My temper and mood restored, I made my way through the market to an outdoorsman's supply store and loaded up on some tools and flint, thinking that if I was going to live in the wilderness, I might as well make the cave a bit more comfortable. As I bring the merchandise up, I realize something embarrassing- I have no money!

Before I can walk away, the vendor comes to the counter and adds the value up, giving me a price. "The flint and tinder, with the saw, nails and three lengths of rope will come to seven silver and three coppers, good sir."

Grinning sheepishly, I put my hand behind my head and ask a question.

"Good shopkeeper, it seems I have left my coin purse at home, and I live days away from town. Is there any labor or service that I might offer you to pay for this? I am in no hurry."

He looks at me with an initially weary eye, probably used to people pulling this as a trick, but a glint enters his eye when he notices my stature and build.

"Well, sir, I may have something for you to do at that. You see, my store has been being robbed almost nightly these past few weeks- someone is stealing dry rations and carrots, of all things! I would like it if you would stand guard for the next three nights, as the thieves seem to come around about that often. If you do, I will cover the cost of this, and pay you an additional five gold for assistance. What say you?"

I blink- it was a generous offer. A real guard would pull more pay, yes, but it was still a good amount. "That sounds like a very good deal to me, sir. Do we have an accord?" I hold out my hand, and we shake on it.

"We do indeed." He says. Then he leads me to the back room, and tells me to get comfortable, as he wanted me to start that night. I nod, and seat myself on some burlap sacks; I was out like a light after a minute.

I awoke to the shopkeeper jostling me gently on the shoulder to wake me. Speaking softly, he gave me my instructions and a key.

"Alright good sir, this is what I need you to do. I would like you to patrol the store proper and the back room; this is the key to the back room, so please be careful with it. I will be back in the early morning, so expect me then. Good guarding!"

And like that, I was alone.

I made myself comfortable and doused the only lamp left on after I was sure the man had left; I needed no light to see, and the burglar might. I settled in for a wait. That night and the next, all went well; nobody tried to enter, and all was quiet. The third night, however, brought a _very_ unusual reunion for me; one I really didn't want at the time.

A couple hours before dawn, in the darkest time of night, I hear a small whoosh outside the back door of the shop. That by itself wouldn't have twigged me to the intruders, but the fact that the door opened as if the key was used did. Sneaking up behind the door, my footsteps careful and silent before I leapt up into the rafters to observe, I waited for the intruders to show themselves.

Imagine my shock when Anna, Elsa and Kristoff all come through the door, dressed in pheasant's clothes, arguing gently.

"Anna, I know you don't like stealing, but we need to, to survive! After that _ass_ of a Duke from Weasel-town convinced the council to depose me, how could we stay?!"

"I don't know, Elsa! I get it, I really do, but how is becoming criminals helping us? How are we going to take back Arendelle if we are wanted for arrest here?!"

Kristoff broke in here, silencing them both.

"I know you two love to argue, but the guardsmen are only away from here for about ten more minutes, and we don't want to get caught. So _please_ keep your argument to yourselves, and let's get what we need!"

Up in the rafters, I was frozen in shock, my mind whirling.

How in the _hell did they get here?!_ What in the name of all that is holy should I _do!?_

A tiny, spiteful corner of my mind told me to turn them in to the guards and screw them over; after all, isn't that what they did to me?!

But, true to my nature, I couldn't help but be the nice guy. Letting out an inaudible sigh, I get ready to scare them away, so they could leave and I could still get my necessities.

Anna's grumble stops me cold.

"I know, I know! Still, I really don't fancy going out into the woods with that girl- Samantha wasn't it? - to find some weird-ass super strong hermit man to help us get back into Arendelle."

Elsa silences her sister with a whack to the back of the head and a glare. They finish gathering their ill-gotten gains and begin to leave. I snap out of my shock at the fact that Samantha would break her word so easily, and resume my plan to break up the party. Letting a bit of power into my body, I move to the door and slam it shut, scaring the bejeesus out of them. They drop all their loot and run to the door, and I barely make it out of sight before they get there and leave as quickly as they came.

After storing the stuff they had taken back where I had found it, I rest for the night, my thoughts going to what I was going to do when I saw them next.

Making up my mind, I wait until the shopkeeper comes back. I fill him in, only saying that I had scared off the thief and that I doubted that they were coming back. Giving me some heartfelt thanks, he gives me my purchases and money. I think a moment, and then hand the money back, buying some better-grade food and some ale. Business now settled, I head out to my clearing at my fastest speed, not knowing when they might arrive. I busy myself with making some crude furniture for the cave and cooking up some travel bread and starting a stew for the next day.

It was good I did, as it was dusk the next day that the group arrived, led by an anxious Samantha, who called out to me by the name I had given her.

"Hey, mister Buraindo! I know you asked us to keep your place a secret, but these people need help bad, worse than we did, even!"

As the echoes from her shouting dissipate, Elsa's face turned to a frown at the name, and she questions Samantha about it.

"This man, was he blind? His name translates, literally, to "Blinded", and we have… history with someone like that."

Samantha was brought up short at this, looking around nervously. "Y-yeah, he was. Why does it matter? Did he do something to you?"

I wait, just inside the mouth of the cave, on Elsa's reply.

With an extremely sad tone, she answers. "No, we- I mean, _**I**_ did something horrible to him. Do you remember the reward posters, promising lots of money for information on a man named Atreyu? That was him, I had the posters sent. I had banished him in a fit of rage, and it took me months and the help of the troll tribe near the castle to see that I had wronged him. By then, it was too late; he had disappeared. We thought that demon hunters had finally killed him."

I walk out, revealing myself to the group, trying to restrain my mixed feelings of rage, happiness, and confusion.

Finally composed after a moment, I speak.

"I am _very _hard to kill. Hello, Snow Queen. Long time, no see."


	9. Chapter 8: The Broken Blade

**A/N: Move along, nothing to read here!**

Chapter 8: The Broken Blade

At my appearance, Samantha stuttered a goodbye and left us alone, probably to return to town with another amazing tale; I can already imagine the two girls from the café gaping when she tells them I know the Ice Queen of Arendelle. Heh, they're gonna freak or faint. Probably both.

The trio was nervous- that much was obvious. Kristoff was simply edgy, unsure of how I would react. Anna seemed worried that I might run, judging from the glances at the surrounding trees and me, back and forth. Elsa, well, she looked like she expected me to simply say "go away" and then leave. I admit, I was sorely tempted to do to her what had been done to me, but I can't be so cruel. So, summoning up some courage from who knows where, I gesture back to the cave.

"It looks like you could use some rest and food. Keep hold of what you want to talk about, we can discuss matters better when your bellies aren't making noises to scare off wolves."

As soon as the words were out of my mouth, Anna's stomach growled menacingly, making the trio jump. I almost laughed. Almost. I hadn't forgotten what Elsa had done to me; I wouldn't be very trusting now, regardless of their intentions.

We made our way into the cave, the others looking at me in askance when I led them further inside. Finally, we turn the corner and come up to my abode.

It was a simple setup. A banked fire that a hole in the ceiling vented, a cot piled with blankets, and a few roughhewn half-logs for guests to sit. It was obvious that the logs were new; they still oozed sap. Over the fire was my stew pot, bubbling merrily and filling the small cavern with the scent of stewing rabbit and herbs. Anna's stomach gives an even louder rumble, and that sends Kristoff chuckling. Glares sent from the others shut him up quick; things must be bad for the two jovial sisters to be so serious. Once everyone was settled, I pull out the three wooden trenchers I had carved and ladle a healthy dollop of stew into them, passing out my camp's meagre silverware. After they started chowing down, I took the time to think.

I really didn't know what to do here; I had no more real loyalty to Arendelle, as I had been banished so abruptly. I had precious little love for the royalty of Arendelle, and what respect I had was all that had convinced me to let the trio in here at all, rather than telling them to go to hell. Even though Elsa had expressed regret for the sudden betrayal- I did indeed see it as one- she hadn't apologized to me, and I really didn't know if the regret was real or feigned to get my help.

Her reaction to my identity hadn't exactly left me with the best handle on her motivations, after all.

With a sigh, I give up and decide to go with my old standby plan: Wait, and see what happens.

I wouldn't rush ahead anymore- I had seen what that brought me, and I wanted no more of it.

After the trio has seconds and Anna devours a third helping, I sit, arms crossed, and wait for one of them to speak.

The silence stretches out, becoming more and more uncomfortable. They probably expected me to ask what they were doing here and all that; I wasn't going to provide them that satisfaction.

Finally, the ominous silence becomes too much, and to my surprise, Elsa- not the impatient Anna- speaks.

"God, it's been _three_ _years_, Atreyu! Say something, anything!" she gasps out, sounding distraught.

My ire surfaces and I answer it a cold, hard tone devoid of emotion. "Yes, it has been three years. Three years that I have waited in this very cave to die, three years since I bared my soul." My ire now sparked, my voice raises. "Three years of misery, thinking that the one that I had seen as a friend hated me. THREE YEARS AWAY FROM HOME!"

My voice quiets, and my next words are almost inaudible. "Three years since my world ended, since I died in all but body."

I stare at her, and she can't seem to meet my eyes. "I broke, Elsa. I would have committed suicide, but my heritage ensures I cannot. I would have gone on a raging rampage, but the small bit of my soul decaying in this body wouldn't let me hurt innocents. So I waited, and waited. You see the furnishings in this cave?"

I stand up and gesture, indicating it all. "I traded labor for the tools to build these… two days ago."

I give them a humorless smirk. "I was guarding that store, the one that you three broke into, you know. I was the one who slammed the door- I did that so I could get some basic supplies. I have nothing but what you see here. Why didn't I reveal myself? Because I couldn't speak. The pain of seeing you three was too much. It took me all the courage I had to just scare you away- I needed the days in between to pluck up enough nerve to even come out when you arrived."

"Even then, I wouldn't have even been there if it hadn't been for those two that I saved from those wolves."

"Their gratitude helped me in the tiniest way. When I saved them, their earnest kindness renewed the smallest spark of myself. I am broken, but not shattered anymore."

I sit heavily on the log bench, almost collapsing in on myself. I look at the horrified group staring at me, and smile a blank, humorless smile.

"You want help? You want to use the broken weapon to help yourselves? Fine. I will help you do what you want to. But remember-"

I release the smallest aura of my flames around myself, revealing that they are an unearthly, matte black.

"Broken blades can cut both ways."

The trio was speechless; good, I didn't want any sympathy or condolences or apologies tonight; I was too angry, and might end up doing something I would regret. Reigning in my power, I stand.

"You will want to get some rest; you can fill me in on the details tomorrow. I will be outside if you need me; I don't need sleep today."

Not that I could, anyway.

-Ice Guardian-

I watched the forest for hours, my mind a blank, my emotions a swirling maelstrom of confusion as I tried to sort them out. I was interrupted by someone making a polite coughing noise behind me. I turned, and there was Anna, standing there looking scared and worried, but still there she was.

"Atreyu, I want you to know that Elsa truly regrets what she had done; she had been stressing out about the mystery figure from the lake, and when it turned out to be you…" She shrugged. "She just… broke. After she banished you, her powers started acting out, causing blizzards and snowstorms above the castle; the town wasn't affected, but still, it unnerved the people something bad. Kristoff and I tried to reason with her, but for months she refused, always retreating to her room. Finally, we cornered her and spoke to her, argued with her for hours. I told her that you were reaching for your blindfold, but she still believed you were going to backhand me."

She takes a steadying breath, and carries on, talking faster than before. "We finally went to the trolls, to get Pabbie's impression. He had said that he didn't believe that you would do such a thing, but Elsa disagreed. Finally, he showed her my memory of you grabbing me, and she saw the truth."

Anna smiled slightly; it was a sad smile. "When it hit her, she was devastated. She was horrified that she had shown such hatred and hostility to someone who had proven himself as a friend."

The smile disappeared.

"She lost control again. Her emotions were so wild, so uncontrolled that she brought about another winter. Yes, she finally managed to deal with the grief by sending out posters and starting a search for you, but the damage was done."

She took a step closer, getting right up in my face.

"The council was already afraid of her; now they were terrified. They think that she is unstable, and so when Weasel-town sent a negotiator, they talked to him behind Elsa's back, and organized a coup."

Anna's voice was fragile, almost breaking; she had tears in her eyes, as well.

"Atreyu, they tried to kill us in our sleep. If it wasn't for the guard that you had met at the gates and assisted in the Castle when the zealots attacked warning us, we would be dead."

She stops talking and just stares at me from inches away. I don't know what to say; I never knew what was happening, or even cared. I was too caught up in my own self-pity.

Anna frowns at my lack of response, and does something I really didn't expect. She reaches up and undoes my blindfold, letting it drop down, revealing my stark white eyes.

"I knew you were hurt by Elsa's banishment, but to be so… cold to her in her time of need? Maybe you should have ice powers instead of her; they suit your blind attitude."

She walks off, leaving me even more confused and lost than I was before.

'Did I really have that much effect on Elsa?'

I shook my head- no time for that now, it was almost light out and we still had some details to go over.

I walk back into the cave, heading for the main room. I walked in, expecting them to be up or at least awake, but…

"Shhhnnnrkkkkk…"

I blink. A sleeping Kristoff sounds more like a bleating reindeer that I would have thought possible. And Elsa was somehow sleeping through it all. Anna was up, of course, and was sitting on one of the benches, reading an official looking piece of parchment with a frown. Curious, I walk over behind her and read over her shoulder. Turns out, the paper is a wanted poster of both of the Arendelle royals. The bounty… Oh, dear lord. There is no way that they got here undetected, not with that amount of money on their heads. Not unless someone very good at hiding brought them over. This was not good- I need to check this out _now._

I spin Anna around by her shoulders, eliciting a startled squeak from her, and the beginnings of an angry glare. Once she sees my expression, however, she blanches.

"Atreyu? What's wrong?"

I grab the paper from her, and read it in detail. Damn, _really _not good.

"Anna, who brought you here? Please tell me it was the royal spymaster."

She looks confused at the question. In the background, Elsa is awake and is listening to what is being said; I don't call her on her eavesdropping, this was too important.

Anna stutters out her response. "N-no, why? We just paid passage to a charter ship, and hid when we got here. Why, is something wrong?"

My anger rises and breaches the surface of my control. A nimbus of blue, dancing flames coats my hand, incinerating the warrant instantly.

For a moment, I was confused; why weren't they the dull black now? I push the thought out as I look back at Anna.

I see the terrified looks being sent my way as she scoots backwards, and I reign in my temper. "Sorry for the outburst, but with the bounty they put out for you? That captain has already squealed- the price is too high, and people take bribes. The price is so high that they will have people searching already; anyone who you talked to in town has pointed pursuers this way, whether they meant to or not. We need to leave, and NOW."

I see Elsa jolt up from the bed and kick Kristoff in the ribs to wake him. He snorts, but wakes quickly.

I see that those two are now awake, so I repeat myself.

"Kristoff, Elsa, there is no _way_ that you weren't followed; the fact that we are in the forest makes this a prime ambush spot. I don't know if you heard, but we need to leave _now_ if we want to live through the number of people that are likely after you."

That got their attention. With a newfound sense of urgency, they start packing their travel bags, and are ready to go in under ten minutes. In that time, I see that Kristoff's pack is much larger, and they hadn't unpacked it all the way. I wondered what they had in there, but dismissed my curiosity. There was no time.

Everyone ready now, I lead them out of the cave, and we start out along a game trail. I keep my ears and nose out for any indication that we might be being followed. So far, we seem to be… clear… Oh, shit.

As soon as the thought crossed my mind, the wind shifted and I scented people, lying in wait nearby. They had to have seen us, and there were at least fifty.

Anna and Kristoff were not fighters; Elsa and I would have to protect them, and I had never fought alongside Elsa; I would have to tone down my fighting style.

This was gonna suck.


	10. Chapter 9: The Big Bad Wolf

**A/N: Battle… fight!**

**Chapter 9: The Big Bad Wolf**

The mercenaries must have twigged to the fact that we noticed them; a few seconds later, a hail of arrows was headed for us. Elsa was the first to react; she was closer. She threw her arms up and a foot thick wall of ice rose up in swirls of snow to intercept the arrows. As she did so, Kristoff swore and unlimbered the hatchet he had, and Anna reached into the pack she had on and pulled out… was that a lute?

Gah, no more time to gawk. Elsa had done more good than she realized for us; we had a wall to defend now, and Anna and Kristoff could back up to it, while Elsa and I went in as heavy hitters. I ignited my arms, swirling patterns of black and pale, baleful blue rotating in an eerie swirl appeared. I paid no attention to their appearance except to note it, and formed a long spear of compressed flame in each hand. One, I lengthened into a quarterstaff and used to intercept the incoming second volley of arrows, while the other I hurled into the mass of eager thugs fast approaching. I didn't hold back much on the javelin; when it impacted, there was a resonant *BOOM* and people, and pieces of people were suddenly flying through the air, with many that were nearby were on fire or out cold. I did this once more before they got too close, and had to deal with them up close. I noticed while I… worked… that Elsa was doing almost as well as I was, but in different ways. She kept conjuring icy spears and arrowing them into the masses of men rushing in. This was as effective as normal arrows, yes, but not enough to thin the hoard manageably like mine.

At least, not at first. After she did this a few times, she closed her eyes and _clapped._ A shockwave of blue shot out, and suddenly the icy spikes were MUCH bigger, and exploding. This took many, many more out, and she kept the others busy by conjuring ice statues and manipulating them like fighters, both to attack and defend. It was a dance, a waltz of cold and death, and dear god was it beautiful.

I snapped my jaw shut- now was not the time to be gawking at the queen- now was time to fight. I returned my attention to the swarm, and saw that it was much bigger than it had a right to be; more must be arriving. We wouldn't be able to hold out against this number too much longer- they would wise up and turn us into pincushions or just simply bury us under bodies.

New plan- get the _hell out of here._

I had a plan to do so, but I knew they would certainly not like it.

Too bad we had no choice.

"Elsa, make us a solid dome! Thick as you can, get us all in it! I need some time!"

She only hesitates for a moment, probably wondering what I had up my sleeves. She complies, a four foot thick pack ice dome surrounding us in a second, stopping the enemy rush cold, but trapping us inside.

Anna was panting, grateful for the break from batting men away, but Kristoff was angry.

"Dammit man, now they can just hack in here and kill us like fish in a barrel! _What were you thinking?!_"

I frown. "I was thinking that we need to get out of here, and I have a way to do it- I just need time… Without arrows pincushioning me, thanks."

Elsa, barely out of breath, turns to me. "What do you have in mind?"

I wince. I had wanted to get it ready before I was asked that, but Nope!

"I am going to have you make us an ice sled, and I am going to pull it while you ice the ground in front of us for speed."

I am greeted by incredulous looks from the three. Anna speaks up, her voice clearly disbelieving.

"Uh, Atreyu, I know that you're strong and all, but an ice sled and three people is a bit too heavy for a person."

I wince. "But not for a Hellhound."

Silence. Damnit, that is what I was afraid of. Now we're stuck, they won't go along with-

"Well, what are you waiting for? Go turn into a flaming doggy!"

Wait, what? I would have expected that from Anna, but from _Elsa?!"_

I turn to her, and see a sneaky smirk on her face. Minx.

Grinning, I turn away. "You all might not want to look- this is not very pretty."

I pull my power inside, and _change._

Bones snap, tendons rip and muscle bulges and tears. The sound is horrific, and the pain is as well. Nothing like having your organs twist and squish, or having your skull grow two feet longer. It took three agonizing minutes to complete the change, my power never having done this but once before. Finally, as my leg joints reverse, the change is finished, and my true demon form is revealed.

At first appearance, my form is that of a jet black wolf the size of a horse, with swirling patterns in the fur. However, my Hellhound form was unique. Hellhounds can't normally get that big, and they are usually orange or red. My 'fur' is crackling black flames, with streaks of white and blue mixed in in swirls reminiscent of snowdrifts. Shaking myself, I reign in the heat from my flames, making my body safe to touch.

I turn and bark to get their attention. They had turned around, and I had heard Anna getting violently sick in the background from the noises. A pale trio turns, and a chorus of gasps escapes them. Kristoff is scared; I knew he had a healthy respect for wolves, but one twice his size?

Anna is… Well, she is over near me babbling on about how cool I look, and can she pet me and so on. I give her a look that clearly states "NOW IS NOT THE TIME." She gets the hint and backs off.

Elsa, however, is a surprise. She is staring at me in wonder. She walks up and reaches out her hand putting it on my new canine head. I close my eyes, enjoying the touch. Suddenly, I have the royal duo scratching my head just like a dogs, and to my eternal embarrassment, I wag my tail out of reflex. Kristoff sees this and bursts out laughing- I really can't blame him. Shaking the two loose, I turn and jerk my head at the empty space next to me and give them an expectant look.

Elsa blushes, getting what I meant. "Sorry, I forgot!" With a swirl of snow, a heavy set snow sled forms, with high side walls and an armored looking set of chains for me to attach to.

I trot over and put my head through the collar, settling it around my neck and getting used to the weight. The others pile in, getting ready.

This was it.

Focusing my power, I project a wide burst of condensed flames that breaches the dome and incinerates the men on the other side. Gathering my strength, I pull more power from my core and strengthen my body, ignoring the twinge in my chest as I overdraw from my seal. Leaping forward, we ride.

The chase is on.

With Elsa freezing the ground to get the carriage to move faster, I have a bit of trouble keeping my feet, so I cheat a bit and shove some heat into my paws, melting the ice as I step and granting me more traction. We race away, drawing fire from bowmen. Most of the arrows miss, and the remaining ones embed themselves into the ice carriage, missing us. I keep going at a dead sprint, slaloming around trees and rocks, going as fast as I can to get us away. I hear the gasps and shrieks of Elsa and Anna, and Kristoff's shouts of surprise, but I keep going. I had heard something they couldn't;

We had mounted pursuit.

Soon, the thundering of horses comes up and Elsa switches from icing the ground to dealing with them. That just made my job a lot harder; without the slippery ice buffer, I couldn't go as fast without risking shattering the sled or flipping it if we hit an obstacle. Damnit!

I slowed down the bare minimum I had to, doing my best to keep us going and to get away from the horsemen. Elsa had downed a few already, but the others were hanging back and their ride partners were taking potshots with their bows. This wouldn't work; they were going to try to exhaust us- it might work, too, if I didn't get Elsa to do the ground ice again. That would make us faster, make it easier for me to run, and slow down the following horsemen.

I needed to tell Elsa, but in this form, I couldn't speak. I had one option, and it was uncomfortable for me- I really didn't want to take that much concentration off the path, but I had to.

Here goes nothing. I send a stream of magic across my back, rearranging the swirls into letters. Anna notices first and grabs Elsa's attention. Finally.

With a final burst of icy magic, she switches to icing the road again, but stops for a moment. Irritated, I look back to see why- an arrow had come dangerously close to Elsa, and startled her. I form words on my back again, instructing her to put a top on the sled. She nods and does so.

I immediately feel the added weight. Shit, this was going to be close now. Even with Elsa creating my road, I would tire faster with the added weight.

Nothing to do but try, eh?

For hours I run, and run. Slaloming through trees and bushes, vaulting rocks and jumping rivers, I loose most of the pursuers in the first three hours of the wild ride. I felt a few pricks on my back, but I attributed that to my Hellhound form and paid no mind. Another four hours, and there are no men to be seen, and we have gone so far overland that we might well be in Corona. My weariness catches up to me as I slow down to a trot, and finally just stop. I have no more energy, and I barely get us to a copse of trees suitable for a camp before collapsing into a panting, exhausted heap. I feel the ice collar evaporate, and the rest of the sled disappears as well. The ice had blocked them from my view, and I from theirs, so I took a look at the three.

Elsa was obviously almost as tired as I was from using her powers so much. Anna and Kristoff were sore from the ride from the way they were walking, but the three seemed in good order. I give a lupine smile and a whine, forgetting for a moment that I can't speak. This draws their attention, and I see the horror in their eyes. What, do I really look that bad?

Elsa points out what was wrong.

"Oh god, how many arrows hit you!? Anna, help me turn him. Kristoff, grab the bandage bag- NOW! He's bleeding badly!"

A muzzy thought floats through my head. Arrows? Huh, so that's what the prickling was. The two girls turn me so they can see my other side and blanch.

Anna looks ill. "Elsa, this is bad. Really bad. I count over a dozen arrows, most broken off. Some of these are probably poisoned too."

She turns to Elsa. "If we don't get some serious help, he won't make it."

That breaks through my foggy thoughts. What?! I jolt and try to move, my aching body protesting as I do; I flare my magic a bit, trying to see if I can do anything.

I slump, but my little stretch told me something they don't know. I push magic into my 'fur' again, spelling out a long message.

'Elsa, Anna, I can still move and travel in this form for a while yet. The poisons don't do much to me right now; it will be days before I'm in danger from them. The arrows don't hurt, which is bad, but I can still function. If you can get me to a healer, I can change back and my healing is better in my normal form. I need to do this before the poisons set in too far, though. I have around three days, I think.'

The three huddle up, discussing. I can't keep my eyes open any longer, the exhaustion too much. I fall off into sleep, wondering if I would live through this.

-Ice Guardian-

I wake up to hushed whispers and uncomfortably tight bandages across my chest. Opening my eyes, I look around. Kristoff must have started a fire, because we had some cooked fish and a bit of hot water that Anna and Elsa were using on my bandages. They were facing away from me, so I put my head back down for a minute, still weary. I overheard something interesting, though.

"Elsa, do you think that Rapunzel might be able to help? We are still the royal family, and we both know that the charges they brought us up on were total bullshit-"

Elsa's shocked voice shushed Anna. "Anna, language! And yes, I do think that Rapunzel ad Eugene will help, even only to help Atreyu here. The problem is that he's stuck in this beast form, and if we took him into town, he would be killed as a monster!"

Kristoff breaks in here. "Actually, we could say that he is a pet to the guards; if it gets him treatment, I'm sure he will have no problem playing the part of a trained animal."

A bit of silence here, and then Anna speaks. "Elsa, I think that would work. It will draw a bit more attention than I would like to us, considering the bounty on our heads, but still."

Elsa lets out a breath. "Okay, we'll ask him when he wakes up."

In response, I snort and spell out my answer on my back. 'Of course I'll do it; I don't really see much of the point of bravado in this situation anyway.'

I hear Elsa's relieved chuckle, and it pulls out a canine huff of amusement from me. Feeling well enough to move, I stand and stretch a bit, my over-strained muscles pulling and cramping. After a bit of whimpering and shaking, Anna and Elsa come over to see if I'm alright, but I wave them off with my tail. Taking a moment, I run a quick glamour over my body, making me a simple jet-black wolf to others who would see me. Well, as simple as a horse sized wolf can be. I spell out what I did to the others, making them nod in agreement. To Elsa, I message that she will want to make a real collar, as an illusion that moves and is separate from my body is beyond what I can do non-verbally. She looks amused at the thought, but rummages through a pack and cobbles together a quick collar and leash from the straps and a spare belt buckle. Sliding it over my head, I see the mischievous glint in her eye again. Oh, boy.

She turns to Anna and Kristoff, and in a cute bubbly voice that is _so_ syrupy sweet that it makes my teeth ache, she quips; "He carried me home, can I keep him?"

Burying my head underneath my paws, I fake-huff dejectedly. The loud, uproarious laughter from the couple lightens my day, and the darkness I feel around my soul lightens a bit more.

As the sun comes up, they throw their packs on, and we start out towards the coast, and towards my only hope at living to see Arendelle again.

But at that moment, I couldn't care less about the place; it was the company, the family that mattered. I had said I would help, but it had been in a dark mood.

Privately, I reaffirmed my vow to protect them. Not because I felt guilty, or because I felt I owed them, but because I realized three things:

One, Elsa truly did regret what had transpired between us.

Two, the three of us were as close as family, and family is important beyond all else.

And three, because I finally admitted something to myself.

I love Elsa.


	11. Chapter 10: Corona

**Ice Guardian**

**Chapter 10: Corona**

We made good time that first day, considering that I was feeling like crap from cramped muscles and stained tendons. The walking eventually worked the kinks out of my system, and I got a good pace going. Anna and Elsa were quite surprising; they seemed to have no objections to the near blistering pace I set. Kristoff was fine with it, but seemed a bit winded when we stopped for lunch. Working our way through the day, we got within sight of Corona just before nightfall, and for that we were profoundly grateful. As we settled down to sleep, I realized that my body was heavy, and I could feel the burn from the poison coursing through my strained system. After the activity of the day, I was feeling the weight of my injuries. I really did not like the conclusion I was reaching; I might not last as long as I thought. During the night, the poison spread and I could feel every inch of it, every nerve and muscle hurting and dying from the toxin. No sleep came that night; my fear and pain were too much. As the next day dawned, Elsa was the first one up, rising with the sun. After checking on our camp, she came over to me and checked the bandages. Her sharp hiss of distress told me enough; it was today or not at all. Before she could speak, I sent the words to my back.

"Elsa, I am worsening much faster than I thought; I must have overdrawn my power during the battle. If I don't get some help, I will not likely last through the night."

At this point, Anna and Kristoff were up, and they saw the message too. Anna, being the bleeding heart she was, teared up instantly.

"No, you can survive this! What happened to the guy who took an icicle to the heart and walked it off, huh?! Come on, please!"

I let out a chuff of amusement at her antics. Kristoff was standing behind her, a comforting hand on her shoulder. His somber face told me he understood, and would not say anything; what, really, could anyone say? At this point, it's now or never. Heaving myself up, I walk a bit to discover if I could still move well. I had some problems, but not too many. I could still travel- I still had hope. As the others regrouped and packed the supplies, I waited. Soon, we were off again. It took us around three hours to reach the main gate to Corona, and the guards stiffened when they saw me, drawing steel and nocking bows as I approached. Elsa and Anna saw this, and walked in front of me, Elsa holding my 'leash'. Seeing this, the guards relaxed fractionally, letting us approach. The guard spoke first, keeping his eyes on me the whole time.

"Halt, travelers. We would know your business in Corona, as well as why you have such an unnatural beast accompanying you."

Elsa replies, keeping a civil tone although I could tell she was angry with the man calling me a beast. "Sir, we come to seek an audience with the Queen, about news of great import from Arendelle. As to our pet, here, he is totally tame and docile, unless I give him a command otherwise. We rescued him as a pup, and apparently the food we fed him agreed with him quite well."

The guard looked unsure- it was _very_ unusual to have visitors to speak with the Queen, and the presence of a gigantic wolf was not making the decision any easier. Finally, he worked up the courage to speak.

"Ma'am, I need proof that this… wolf… is indeed as tame as you say; I cannot let feral beasts into the city."

Elsa's scoff makes his face turn beet red, but she turns to me and speaks.

"Ok, Trey, sit!"

I go along with the charade, sitting, shaking and barking all on command. I played the part of a perfectly domesticated dog quite well, and I could see the worry shrinking in the guard as I obeyed without hesitation. Finally, he stopped Elsa's demonstration, speaking firmly.

"Thanks, Ma'am that's all we need to see. We will pass the request to her Highness- she should be able to see you tomorrow."

This put worry on the trio's faces, as they knew that I would not last that long. Anna speaks up, grabbing the guard's attention.

"Um, sorry sir, but is there any way that we could see her today? It is a matter of great importance, and we are quite sure that she would wish to see us."

I watched the man carefully as he listened to her words… and I did not like what I was seeing. His look had changed to a guarded, wary look as he heard Anna's request. It didn't look good; he was seeing someone with a huge and dangerous trained animal who wanted to talk to the Queen face to face, and urgently. I admit- if I was him, I wouldn't trust us either. Thinking quickly, I spelled a message out to Kristoff, seeing as he was the only one who could see my back at that moment. He read the request, nodded, and broke into the conversation.

"Well, not all of us will be attending the audience; trained as he is, I doubt Fuzzy here will do well indoors. If we do get to see the Queen, the mutt and I will gladly stay outside while the two here go."

Elsa and Anna turn to him, looking confused. Regardless of what they thought, Kristoff's speech had worked; the guard relaxed and smiled.

"I will send a runner to the castle informing her Majesty of your request. May I have a name for the message?"

Oh, crap. We hadn't thought of that; if the guard had heard of the bounty, and he most likely had, then he would probably waste no time in locking us up and shipping us away to our deaths. I had no strength to run, and there was no way Elsa, Anna, and Kristoff could hold against the whole of the Corona city guard. Thankfully, Elsa was clever enough to have thought of that on her own, and had a plan.

"Sir, if you would provide a bit of parchment and a pen, I will write the missive myself. As we are coming from a place of turmoil, I don't wish any of our names known widely, for fear of reprisal."

Nodding, the guard accepted this explanation and gestured to the guardhouse. A squire came out, holding an inkpot, a roll of parchment, and a lit candle. Elsa took the pen with a word of thanks, and quickly wrote out a note, folding and sealing it with some wax from the candle. Job finished, the lad jogged away, red in the face from the presence of a beautiful lady and a giant wolf.

At least he would have some stories to tell later, eh?

The runner was dispatched, and we were escorted to a small atrium just inside the castle walls. We waited for around an hour, growing nervous as the time passed. After the noon bell, Elsa and Anna were summoned in, while Kristoff and I waited behind as promised. I was _really_ feeling the poison now; some of it must be a blood poison, as I could feel my wounds leaking into the bandages again. As much as I hated it, there was nothing I could do; my healing was barely slowing my illness now, and I was worsening at an alarming rate. I could feel my thoughts going fuzzy as blood loss affected me. I was barely conscious when Elsa returned, a brunette dressed in regal robes following. They saw me lying on my belly, panting in a pool of blood, and Elsa let out a gasp of horror; the other, who must be the queen, echoed it. I wondered why, until in a brief moment of clarity I noticed that my glamour was gone, the pain and weakness ending my control. The Queen of Corona did something I really didn't expect; instead of running away, she approached and knelt down next to me.

Soon, a nervous servant brought over a bowl of clear water and the Queen dipped her finger in it, saying some sort of chant in low tones I couldn't make out in my delirious state. I saw the water shine and turn golden, Elsa gasping in wonder, and as Corona's Queen poured it over me, all I could do was finish what needed to be done.

Gathering my last bit of willpower, my last bit of magic, I opened the seal a bit, just enough to allow me to shift to my human form. The flare of heat startled the two hovering over me, but they didn't stop. Slowly, I forced the change over my body.

It was _much_ worse than the first time.

My body shrank and twisted, poison and blood shifting and flailing through my body in unnatural ways as I shifted forms. The arrows, still embedded, were slowly forced out as the wounds stretched and tore, splattering blood and infected tissue over the floor. My bones snapped and changed, shrinking and reorienting. After ten grueling minutes, I was humanoid again, and it was wonderful… for around a minute. The golden power that was around me suddenly flared and poured into my wounds, an incredible heat following its passage. I could feel the tissue repairing itself, the bones healing and the puncture wounds sealing shut. I vaguely felt it interacting with my own power, but it was ignored as the flaring pain of my body healing was all I could feel. The odd power began flushing some of the poison, but all too soon, it was gone and I blacked out.

-Ice Guardian-

I awoke in what was most certainly a cell- comfortable, but a cell nonetheless. It had no way out but the door, and the door was a swinging gate that locked from the outside. Looking around to get my bearings, I sat up without thinking, prompting a cry of pain as my internal organs protested- loudly. Swearing under my breath, I examined my system and what I found had me feeling very mixed feelings.

My physical wounds were healed, and quite well; there was almost no evidence of them at all. Most of the poisons were flushed, too, but the nastier ones were still being attacked by my body and magic.

However, it was my magic that concerned me. I could feel it, coiled in my core. It was all there, in good order, but the thing that had me concerned was that there was no seal on it anymore. This brought a shock of panic to my mind, and said panic manifested as a wave of heat that set the bed to smoking. Swearing quite audibly now, I focused and snuffed the budding fire. Bringing my concentration to bear on my power, I set about restoring my seal.

It didn't work like I wanted; the seal was something unnatural forced upon a naturally occurring power. Whatever had healed me had done so by restoring things to their natural state, and it had done so even to my power. The poisons it flushed were of man-made manufacture, but the poisons currently in my system were from natural sources- snake venom and the like.

Gritting my teeth, I brought my will to bear on my power, locking it behind a different seal, one that the foreign power didn't interfere with. My previous seal prevented me from drawing too much power at once, whether I wanted to or not and thus was unnatural. This new one would limit my power to conscious decisions, but could be breached by very strong emotions. It would keep me from setting things on fire accidentally, but it was not enough to restrain me it a very stressful situation, like the recent chase or my… eruption. It was more organic, easier to bypass, and so the residual power left it alone.

I needed to be _very_ careful now.

The smoke and my cursing must have brought some attention to me, because soon I heard the door grind open. The first thing through the door was a frantic Elsa who wasted no time in surprising me by launching herself across the room and hugging me tightly.

"Oh god! Atreyu! I thought we lost you! When I walked in and you were bleeding on the floor I thought you were gone! Don't scare me like that again, you hear me!?"

I was amazed by how quickly she flipped from scared and concerned friend to angry worried friend with no warning. Raising my eyebrow, I give her a mock bow, deadpanning;

"As you wish, my Queen."

This brought out a snort of laughter and soon we were laughing for no reason than exquisite relief. We were interrupted from out cathartic laugh by a delicate feminine voice from the entrance to the cell.

"Well cousin Elsa, who do we have here? I believe you owe me an explanation, a long one in point of fact."

Looks like Rapunzel, Queen of Corona wanted answers.

Now.


	12. Chapter 11: Infernal Prophesy

**A/N: And the plot thickens!**

* * *

**Ice Guardian**

_**Chapter 11: Infernal Prophesy**_

"…Well?"

The foreign queen had swept in so suddenly that I was still processing her presence, let alone her question. Elsa saw my plight and began in my stead.

"Well, would you like the short or the long version? If you want the long version, you might want to get comfortable- you'll need it."

This elicited a raised eyebrow from the Queen of Corona. "Well, the long story is what I want- it certainly seems like an adventure to me, so of course I want to hear!"

I almost facepalmed at her enthusiasm- I didn't think that anyone could be more bubbly than Anna, but she seemed to be heading there.

"So, when did it start? When did you meet the dog man here? Oh, sorry if that offends- Wait, where did you get here from? Arendelle's at least a couple of days away by sea! Oh, where did Anna go? I saw her making eyes at that blond man, what was his name?" and so on and son on. She really didn't seem to breathe.

Elsa took point on answering the incoming barrage of questions. "It started a while ago- Anna, Kristoff- the blond man- and I were out in the mountains…"

I tuned them out, focusing on my magic. I delved deep into my sense, feeling the poisons in my body that remained. Whoo, those were some nasty concoctions here- Rattlesnake venom, Pit Viper venom, wow- poison frog venom, that's a rare and nasty one. The list went on and on; even with my body's healing working in overdrive, I was still very much in danger; it was only the Hellhound's constitution that kept me alive so long.

Not much could outright kill a demon-hound.

Getting back on task, I pulled minute amounts of my power into my bloodstream, piloting them around to the most contaminated areas. I encapsulated the pockets of venom in walls of heat, either neutralizing the venom or moving it out of my body. I continued this for hours, my mind totally occupied by the task. Finally purged of that witch's brew of poisons, I brought myself back to the real world…

To a still questioning Rapunzel.

"So, you found him in the woods near the port? Wow, what a coincidence! So after that, you just headed here? Where did he get so hurt?"

Elsa hesitated in answering- I wonder how much she wanted to tell this foreign queen. My idle question was answered.

"Well, you know that bounty hunters are really active right now, yes?"

I hear the rustling of cloth as the local Queen shifts nervously- I keep my eyes closed, pretending to still be asleep, but seeing all the same.

"Yes, but what does that have to do with you?" I wince inwardly, and Elsa cringes enough that I feel it through the mattress.

"Well, Anna and I didn't so much _leave_ Arendelle as we were… forced out?" I heard the sheepishness in her tone and deduced that she hadn't wanted to share this info, but ended up anyway.

Rapunzel went off. "WHAT? What happened? Are you two alright? What do you need? How are the council-members; are they taken hostage?"

Elsa releases a bitter laugh. "Oh, the council members are just fine- they're the ones who forced us out- they are also the ones to put a hit on our group. A big enough bounty that we were ambushed by over two hundred men just after we were reunited with Atreyu here."

Silence followed. I pushed my sense outwards to its normal level, and saw that Rapunzel was gaping. The sight was so comical that I chuckled, bringing both their attention over to me.

Elsa moved to help me up; I accepted her arm even though I didn't need to, and was soon sitting upright. I felt drained, but not in pain anymore now that the slew of poisons were gone. I looked up, and Rapunzel met my eyes and gasped; I guess she hadn't seen my eyes yet. I wave off her incoming questions and speak.

"Yes, I'm blind, but my power lets me see even better that you or Elsa here. Anyway, to finish off Elsa's story here, after we were ambushed, we fought back for a while, taking out around a third of the existing forces before the rest arrived as reinforcements. I had Elsa stall with an ice dome while I transformed into the hellhound form you saw before, and she created a sledge from ice that I pulled for miles- they made chase, and Elsa eventually had to close the top to prevent arrows from hitting them- I took the brunt. Still, we escaped and made it here- that's all that matters."

I saw her process my comment a bit at a time. "Well, that's good you're alright now! I must say that that -"

Her eyes dilated and she retreated back into her seat as she picked up on one word in particular. "_Hellhound?!_ Elsa, get away from him! He must be part demon! We have to leave!"

Suiting action to words, she bolted up and grabbed Elsa by the arm, trying to mull her away. Elsa simply took her arm back and delivered a glower that would make even her coldest blast seem like a day at the beach.

I sighed and held my hands up in the universal sign for 'I mean you no harm' and spoke softly, keeping my milky eyes averted. "Queen, I am indeed half demon, but I am not a servant of the devil. Crosses and holy water hold no fear for me, and if I was an infernal creature, then your power would have burned me instead of healing me. That right there is your proof. If you need time to process this fact, then feel free to lock me up or whatever you wish, just don't hurt Elsa, Anna, or Kristoff- they had no part in my power."

The Queen, still visibly frightened, looks from me to Elsa and back. Finally, she lets out a shaky breath and nods.

"Okay, I will think on what you have said. Please remain here in your cell, though- I have to be sure."

I nod, giving her a weak smile. "No problem with that; I only just now finished purging the last of the poisons from my system. Your power is wondrous, but it only fixes the unnatural; physical wounds or man-made poisons. They had their arrows tipped with quite the concoction- including many different kinds of snake, frog, and plant- based venom that your power left in my system. I can't go anywhere for a few days at least."

Lying back down, I give her one parting shot. "Although, if I really wished to, I could blow this country off the face of the map… even as weakened as I am. Remember; I have had ample time to do you and your kingdom harm, and I have not."

Seeing her face filled with fright and worry, that _might _not have been the best thing to say.

Elsa's irritated punch to my shoulder was kind of a hint, too.

I felt the events of the day catch up to me again, and soon I was yawning and struggling to keep my eyes open. Elsa noticed this, and lowered me onto the bed with a wan smile. My head hit the pillow, and I was out for the rest of the day.

Ice Guardian

I woke up to shouts of anger and frustration, and the rattling of the cell door as a key was roughly shoved into the lock. Immediately wary, I push my sense out into the room and beyond, taking in what was being said and by whom. None of the people were familiar to me, but thee persons referenced in their conversation were.

"Damnit man, how hard is it to open a fucking cell door?!" exclaimed the man I mentally tagged as 'Brute 1'.

The man opening the door- at sword-point I might add, was too scared to offer a rejoinder besides a scared squeaking noise as the first of three locks opened and fell to the floor. I nicknamed him 'Dude'.

The two others in the hall laughed at the poor man's predicament, immediately placing them as 'Brute 2' and 'Brute 3'. Brute 2 spoke, and my anger spiked enough to set my sheets to smoldering.

"What do you expect from a demon worshiper?! When the guard captain said they had one here, and we were to keep him here- Not kill him!- this was one of the pansies that just did it anyway! Not even a protest!" he ended his tirade by spitting a glob of tobacco onto the scared man's head, setting Brute's 1 & 2 to laughing.

Brute 3 hefted a sizable axe, grinning. "Well, he'll be useful as a meat shield when we rush in there. So, little man, you wanna see the demon? Guess what! You will, up close and personal. The demon's been stuck there for days- he's gonna be hungry, angry and downright… Evil. So, say goodbye to your spine!"

The trio's laughter and the man's whimpers set me off even worse. These bags of shit had to be castle guards here to kill me, against the wishes of the local Queen.

The bad part? Even if I killed them in self-defense, I would be the bad guy. Gah, looks like I gotta be inventive here. I had to assume they knew about my powers, even if they didn't- it was a gamble I couldn't take, them having a hostage. Looking around the room, I see no obvious way to avoid or hold them off without killing them outright, so I had one option.

Try to get a message out, and take my beating in the meantime.

Shit.

I form a small bird out of flame, putting words onto its wings and caging the heat so it was safe to touch. Giving it a directive to find Elsa by the powers she has, I put it above the door just as the second lock clicks open. I groan in annoyance; if I wasn't still physically weak from the poison, I could simply knock them out, no problem. But as it was, with an inferior seal on my powers as well as a screwed up body?

Well, this is gonna hurt.

The third lock opens, and the brutes shove in, holding the terrified guard in front of them as a shield. I feign unconsciousness, hoping against all probability that they would think that this was the wrong room.

"Wake 'em up, I wanna hear that filth scream!"

… No such luck. The trembling man is shoved roughly onto me, and I force myself to react like a startled person would- I jerk upright and flail, causing the man to fall on his ass- away from them, thankfully- and the brutes to grab my arms and administer a brutal punch to my gut.

Not a one of them notices the small, bright orange sparrow dart out of the door as they manhandled me. The third brute shuts the door, and I prepare myself for a beating.

Ice Guardian

Elsa was worried, and didn't know why. She could feel something was up, and it had her wearing a hole in the carpet with her pacing. She had the horrible feeling that something was happening, and she didn't like it.

This on top of the now-explained reasons that Corona _really, __**really**_ hated demons?

Apparently, they had a prophesy, engraved into a slab of obsidian that had been given to a previous king by a dying arch-demon, just to spite the man. It read quite ominously;

"One born of Fire on a mountain of Ice will burn an Island with his pain."

"His Rage shall be unmatched; his power, unimaginable. His heart shall be held by one he knows, and She shall know not."

"She must be made to see, through his eyes, how he has been bound to her- lest his world burn."

"Never to see a day once more."

"The Guardian must be saved-"

"Or he will be the one who _**BURNS.**_"

Obviously, this had her in a bit of a tizzy.

To her, it certainly seemed obvious that the referenced person was, indeed, Atreyu. She couldn't for the life of her figure out who the woman was!

Anna had Kristoff, so she was out, and Elsa was certain that it wasn't her who held his heart; Christ, it had been HER who _broke it!_

So, to Elsa, it was quite the conundrum; how to get Atreyu to his heart of hearts, and how to make her 'see through his eyes' about 'how they are bound'.

That, she had no idea what it meant, or how to do it.

She was interrupted in her pacing by a flash of orange at her window, and a loud *Thunk* accompanying it. Curious, she goes over to the sliding window and opens it, finding a small, curiously bright orange bird laying there, stunned. She reaches down and picks it up, only then spying the text on it's wings.

In a burst of panic, her powers erupt and freeze the room over- every surface is covered in at least an inch of frost, the surface going purple and crackling ominously as her fear and panic reverberate through her powers.

Not even bothering to clear it, she sprints out of the room, heading for the dungeons- hoping she won't be too late...

As she leaves, she never notices the bird dim and vanish into smoke.

* * *

**A/N:**

**Annnnd… Wha-Bam!**


	13. Chapter 12: Monster, Demon, Freak

**A/N: Deliberately short chapter- life's been eating me alive, but this came to me when I heard the song featured here.**

**It was perfect. I don't normally do songs in my stories (Outsider was the trial, and I died via brain fart on that one) but this spoke to me.**

**The song in this chapter is a lightly modified 'Cradle to the Grave' by Five Finger Death Punch.**

**This chapter has language in it; if you really are offended by it, well, the story IS M-rated for a reason.**

Chapter 12: Monster, Demon, Freak

Elsa was expecting blood on the walls and ceiling and dead men, but when her hurried, panicked flight from her room to the dungeons was finished…

Well, there _was_ blood on the walls.

But not the men's.

Atreyu was laying on his side, curled up into a feeble ball in the corner, a shallow pool of blood the only thing covering him. Even now, the vicious men were beating him, smashing in his already hideously deformed arms and legs with cudgels and fists.

Through it all, Elsa could see- in the split second she had before her anger erupted- that Atreyu was _conscious._ He could **feel them **_**beating him to death!**_

Her rage erupted. A WALL of white blasted from her hand, slamming the three brutes into the red-stained stonework hard enough to break a few ribs. The ice, in her anger, was tinged a bloody red and was covered in razor sharp ice-spines. The men dealt with, the other man cowering in the opposite corner to Atreyu ignored, she sprinted in and knelt down next to him, heedless of the huge amount of blood covering the floor.

"Oh… Oh GOD. How… How could someone do this?! MEDIC! **MEDIC!**"

He was so badly injured that Elsa was afraid to touch him, lest she kill him. Bits of bone were poking through his skin in many places on each arm, and his chest was in even worse condition.

"Mortal wounds, all of them, yet he didn't die! That FUCKING **DEMON FREAK** is a perfect match for you, Ice Witch!"

The room went silent, aside from Elsa's breathing. The men on the wall somehow felt that their comrade had stepped over a line, so they kept quiet.

They thought the line crossed was with the Ice Queen.

They were wrong.

A quiet, pain filled voice sounded throughout the cell, growing stronger with each word.

"Demon? I've been called this, yes. I have devil-blood in me by heritage. I've been called a freak, too; even my normal appearance causes discord."

Now, as he pauses for breath, the grotesque sound of grinding bone sounds out as his flesh knits and his skeleton reforms.

"But never have I harmed one who hasn't attacked me first; never have I hurt an innocent, or a bystander."

Looking up, the men trapped by a wall of razor-spiked ice meet his gaze. Not to see the blank pupils of a blind man, oh no.

They see pools of deep red, the abyss.

"But to YOU?! To men like YOU who kill and maim others based on something you simply DON'T UNDERSTAND?!"

His eyes now a blazing, burning black that hurt the soul to look at, he stalked forward, his flames coalescing into a set of blood-red steel plate mail.

"I'm a living nightmare."

The defiant prisoner spits at the now vertical Atreyu. "Your blood is demonic, Satan spawn. I deny you, and all you love! May you drown in your own blood!"

An unearthly beat sounds through the room, music not heard in the planes of Heaven or Earth, and they come from Atreyu.

"**The blood that runs within my veins!"**

****At this, he carves open his forearm, crimson staining crimson armor, and he spitefully flings the drops at the men.

"**Keeps me from ever ending up the same!"**

"**The fire that's pushing me, on and on and on!"**

"**To me it's everything- and it makes me fucking strong!"**

"**Love me, or hate me- I walk alone!"**

"**Been called a monster, called a demon, called a freak!"**

"**I'm not an idol, not an angel, not a saint!"**

"**I walk alone, I always have, I'm not ashamed!"  
"A living nightmare, from the cradle… to the grave."**

Now, fully in the face of the trapped men, Atreyu's emotions run rampant, the temperature in the room skyrocketing- the ice melts. The men waste no time in attacking with their weapons. As he parries a stab towards his heart, bringing his hand back to strike, Atreyu continues to belt out this outpouring of emotion.

"**The soul that lives within my chest!"  
"Just won't allow me, to turn out like the rest!"**

This was delivered with a glare at the cowering man who had ample opportunity to stop the brutality- but didn't.

**"This heart that's driving me, on and on and on!"**

"**Has the same vision- and it keeps me fucking strong!"**

"**Love me, or hate me- I walk alone!"**

"**Been called a monster, called a demon, called a freak!"**

He backhands the stunned swordsman, sending him into an unmoving heap on the ground.

**"I'm not an idol, not an angel, not a saint!**

"**I walk alone, I always have, I'm not ashamed!"**

"**I've always been a living nightmare- from the cradle, to the grave."**

"**I walk alone!"**

Grabbing the axe the second man wields, he heats it until it melts in the man's hands, sending him to his knees screaming as his hands were burnt beyond recognition. A kick to the head sends that man off to meet the first.

"**Been called a monster, called a demon, called a freak!"  
"I'm not an idol, not an angel, not a saint!"**

"**I walk alone, I always have, I'm not ashamed!"  
"A living nightmare, from the cradle, to the grave!"**

Grabbing the last man by the head, he pulls him to meet his eyes.

"**Been called a monster, called a demon, called a freak!**

**I'm not an idol, not an angel, not a saint!**

**I walk alone, I always have, and I'm not ashamed!  
I'll always be a living nightmare, from the cradle-**

**To the grave!"**

With this last line delivered, he tosses the man upwards, knocking his head on the ceiling so that the man landed on his comrades.

Elsa was without words. The emotions and thoughts he had just expressed made her see him in a new light. She really had had no idea about how he felt or his motivations for his actions- it seemed that he was, in fact, more like a saint that he would readily admit.

Besides the brutality, of course.

Gathering her nerves once again, Elsa freezes the men still once again, her now calm state producing only clear, pure ice. Turning to Atreyu, she's surprised to see him standing so close- he had moved towards her as she was binding the men down.

'Wow, he's _really_ close. Like, kissing close.'

Elsa had only a moment to register this curiously Anna-like thought before the thought became reality.

Reacting to the kiss, she relaxed into his arms, her arms going to his head to pull him deeper into the kiss. All rational thought had fled- it was all primal instinct and feeling now.

Dimly, in the back of her mind, she realized that she _was_ indeed the woman spoken of in the prophesy.

But in the now, there was only Atreyu, his warmth and presence comforting her like never before. As they break for breath, she says the only thing that comes to mind.

"You may have walked alone, but you have someone now."

Pulling him into a hug, she whispers the last into his ear.

"You are no freak. You are my _guardian, _Atreyu- but more importantly…"

"The man I love."


End file.
